Users across the globe are currently unable to refresh their X (formerly Twitter) timelines, marking the latest significant technical disruption for the platform. The outage, which began impacting access to real-time feeds today, follows a pattern of instability that has plagued the service since Elon Musk’s $44 billion acquisition in 2022.
A History of Platform Instability
Prior to this current disruption, X experienced large-scale connectivity issues in December 2022 and July 2023. These frequent outages have raised ongoing questions regarding the platform’s infrastructure reliability following drastic changes to its internal operations.
Workforce Reductions and Engineering Impact
After Musk acquired the platform, he promptly slashed the company’s workforce by about 80%, reducing the staff from 7,500 employees to approximately 1,300 workers. Data indicates that X had just 550 full-time engineers as of January 2023, according to CNBC.
The technical strain on the platform appears to persist as the company continues to restructure. A new wave of layoffs hit the company in November 2024, primarily affecting X’s engineering department, further thinning the ranks of the team responsible for maintaining site stability.
