Shubham Sawarkar
Elon Musk’s Twitter (now rebranded to X) seems to be facing yet another hiccup, as the company struggles to fulfill its promise of timely payouts for its “Ads Revenue Sharing” program. The setback comes as no surprise, given Twitter’s tumultuous recent history under Musk’s leadership. The X Support account made a public announcement stating that the overwhelming popularity of the revenue-sharing program has caused delays in processing payments. However, they assured users that all eligible accounts will be paid as soon as possible.
The situation has drawn attention not only due to the delay but also because of Musk’s nonchalant approach in addressing the matter. Amidst tweets about SpaceX Starship and The Boring Company, Elon Musk did acknowledge the delay but did not provide specific numbers to quantify the extent of interest in the program. This lack of transparency might be disconcerting to users who were banking on the revenue-sharing program as part of their livelihood.
Elon Musk introduced the revenue-sharing plan in February as an essential component of his vision for X—an all-encompassing app that would handle banking, stock trading, and other financial features. The first round of payments was sent out to eligible accounts a few weeks ago after meeting specific criteria, such as paid verification via Twitter Blue or Verified organizations, a substantial number of “organic” impressions, and a minimum follower count.
Unfortunately, the delayed payments are not an isolated incident at Twitter/X since Musk’s takeover. Numerous individuals and organizations associated with the platform have faced similar issues, including landlords in San Francisco and London, who have struggled to receive rent payments, and former Twitter Africa employees left without promised severance payments.
This pattern of non-payment has led to legal challenges, with several former employees filing a lawsuit against the company, alleging a deliberate intention to breach contracts and ignore legal obligations. As of February, the lawsuits collectively sought $14 million in unpaid bills, underscoring the severity of the financial troubles faced by Twitter/X.
In July, Elon Musk acknowledged Twitter/X’s negative cash flow, attributing it to a significant drop in advertising revenue and a substantial debt load. Despite this financial strain, Twitter did eventually pay its unpaid Google Cloud bill, raising hope that the delayed revenue-sharing payments will also be resolved promptly.
For users who have invested in the revenue-sharing program, the delays might be causing concern and frustration. It remains to be seen how quickly Twitter/X can resolve the issue and instill confidence in its users once again. As Elon Musk’s grand vision for X continues to unfold, transparency and reliability in financial matters will be critical factors in maintaining the trust of its growing user base.
