Elon Musk sells X to his AI startup xAI in $33 billion stock deal

​Elon Musk has announced that his artificial intelligence company, xAI, has acquired the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) in an all-stock transaction valued at $45 billion, including $12 billion in debt. This deal values xAI at $80 billion and X at $33 billion.

Elon Musk on X: "@xAI has acquired @X in an all-stock transaction. The combination values xAI at $80 billion and X at $33 billion ($45B less $12B debt). 

Elon Musk has sold his social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to his own artificial intelligence company xAI in an all-stock transaction valuing X at $33 billion and xAI at $80 billion.

The deal, announced Friday, effectively merges the two companies Musk controls.

Musk described the move as a strategic combination of “data, models, compute, distribution, and talent,” aimed at accelerating AI development and deploying it at scale.

“This combination will unlock immense potential by blending xAI’s advanced AI capability and expertise with X’s massive reach,” Musk wrote in a post on X.

The transaction includes $12 billion in X’s existing debt, bringing the total deal value to $45 billion.

Because both companies are private and share overlapping investors—including Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia, and Saudi Arabia’s Kingdom Holding Co.—the deal amounts to a stock swap.

Musk bought Twitter in 2022 for $44 billion, implemented sweeping layoffs and policy changes, and rebranded it as X.

The platform’s value had since plummeted, with Fidelity estimating it had lost up to 80% of its value. Recent signs of recovery, including the return of advertisers like Amazon and Apple, suggest stabilization, aided by xAI’s growing influence and integration.

xAI, founded in 2023 with a goal to "understand the true nature of the universe," has been working to rival OpenAI, developing large language models and releasing Grok, a chatbot already integrated into X for premium users.

Musk says the merger will create smarter user experiences and help push AI development further. X’s vast user base—over 600 million, according to Musk—provides a massive data stream and testing ground for xAI’s models.

The merger also consolidates Musk’s focus. In addition to Tesla and SpaceX, Musk now oversees xAI/X, and serves as a top advisor in the Trump administration, where he heads the Department of Government Efficiency.

While it’s unclear what immediate changes users will see, Musk’s ambitions are clear: tighter integration, faster AI deployment, and greater influence across tech, media, and government.