Elon Musk just pulled off the most elaborate game of Monopoly ever—he sold X (formerly Twitter, formerly kinda fun) to…himself.
Yes, you read that right. On Friday (March 28), the 53-year-old billionaire/genius/meme enthusiast announced that he had sold X to his artificial intelligence startup, xAI, for a casual $33 billion. That’s right, he shuffled billions around like it was pocket change in a pair of space-proof Tesla jeans.
In his grand announcement on X (which we refuse to stop calling Twitter), Musk broke down the math, saying:
“The combination values xAI at $80 billion and X at $33 billion ($45B less $12B debt).”
Translation? “I did some rich guy math, and it makes sense, trust me.”
Musk then went on to hype up xAI, boasting that it has quickly become one of the top AI labs in the world. Apparently, they’re building models and data centers “at unprecedented speed and scale,” which, to the average person, means absolutely nothing but sounds really impressive.
He also took a moment to hype up X, calling it “the digital town square” where 600 million people gather for real-time information (or, more accurately, to argue with strangers and watch weird videos of raccoons stealing donuts).
But Why Sell X to xAI?
Musk explained that after launching Grok (xAI’s AI chatbot, aka “ChatGPT’s chaotic cousin”) last year, it was time to merge all the data, models, compute, distribution, and talent. In simpler terms: he’s turning X into a full-blown AI powerhouse.
“xAI and X’s futures are intertwined,” he declared, probably while laughing maniacally over a pile of stock options.
He promised that this fusion would lead to smarter, more meaningful experiences for billions of people—or at the very least, make Grok slightly less unhinged.
Musk ended his victory lap by thanking his teams for their hard work, signing off with:
“This is just the beginning. Thank you for your continued partnership and support.”
Translation: “Buckle up. This AI rollercoaster is just getting started.”
Oh, and in case you forgot, Musk originally bought Twitter in 2022 for $44 billion, then renamed it X in 2023 because, well, he really loves the letter X. Now, it’s been sold to his own company for $33 billion. So, is it genius? Is it financial wizardry? Or is it just an expensive game of musical chairs?
Either way, Elon Musk is out here playing 4D chess, and the rest of us are just watching. 🍿
