Twitter's ad revenue down 50%, says Elon Musk

Twitter's owner, Elon Musk, has revealed that the social media platform has seen a 50% drop in advertising revenue along with a heavy debt load resulting in a negative cash flow, according to a tweet by the billionaire. 

"Need to reach [a] positive cash flow before we have the luxury of anything else," Musk added in his tweet. He was responding to a tweet by a user suggesting that he gets a consortium together who understands his vision for the platform. The user suggested that Musk get the consortium to buy the debt and to then do a tender or exchange offer for convertible notes with more favorable terms.

Don't miss: 30 million and counting: Will Threads be the next playground for adland players?

Musk added that while it did not see the increase in advertising revenue that was expected in June, that "July is a bit more promising".

Threads is an app that was built by Instagram and that function similarly to Twitter. It allows users to post text-based posts that other users can then comment on, share and like. 

According to Meta in a statement, Threads offers a new, separate space for real-time updates and public conversations. 

"Instagram is where billions of people around the world connect over photos and videos. Our vision with Threads is to take what Instagram does best and expand that to text, creating a positive and creative space to express your ideas," said Meta. "Just like on Instagram, with Threads you can follow and connect with friends and creators who share your interests – including the people you follow on Instagram and beyond. And you can use our existing suite of safety and user controls.

Threads quickly shot to popularity with over a 100 million users joining the platform in the first few days of its launch, threatening Twitter which is fighting to keep advertisers and users on its platform. 

The news by Musk also reveals that measures implemented by the platform have not been effective. Earlier this year, according to media reports, Twitter said that it will be offering free advertisements to brands that advertise on its platform as it attempts to lure brands back onto its platform following a massive drop in its ad business. The platform was offering to match advertiser’s ad spending up to US $250,000, according to emails that were seen by The Wall Street Journal where the news was first reported. It was revealed in the emails that the full US$500,000 in advertising must run by February 28.

The initiative was brought about after the social media site saw the loss of many top advertisers that contributed to the company bleeding over US$4 million a day, according to a tweet by Musk in November last year.

Since then, Musk has brought on Linda Yaccarino, NBCUniversal’s ex-head of global advertising, who took over as Twitter's new CEO from 16 June this year.

Yaccarino brings to Twitter vast experience in the advertising space having spent just over 11 years at NBCUniversal Media. Before she held the role of chairman of global advertising, Yaccarino worked at Turner, a broadcast media production company that creates content for entertainment, sports and news. Yaccarino held the role of executive vice president of advertising sales, marketing and acquisitions in her just over 19 years there. 

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