Elon Musk claimed on Monday that X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, was hit by a massive cyberattack, disrupting access for users across Asia, Europe, and North America. However, with no immediate evidence to support his claim, questions have arisen over whether the billionaire is being targeted or if his deep staff cuts at X have left the platform vulnerable.
Reports of the outage began early Monday, with Downdetector tracking widespread issues. Musk, posting on X, said the attack was ongoing, and suggested that such an operation would require significant resources, likely from a nation-state or a large coordinated group.
During an interview with Fox Business, Musk claimed that some of the computers used in the attack had digital addresses in Ukraine, though he admitted that X was still investigating the exact cause. Cybersecurity experts noted that while it is difficult to assess the situation without internal data from X, the prolonged disruption indicates a serious attack.
“It’s cyberwar hitting at full force,” said Chad Cragle of cyberdefence platform Deepwatch. “With Musk in the spotlight and political tensions at a peak, these attacks bear all the indicators of nation-state aggression.”
Musk also hinted that the attack might be linked to recent political turmoil, sharing a post that suggested it was retaliation for protests against his so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The advisory group, tasked with cutting federal staffing and spending, has drawn mounting resistance from lawmakers and courts.
Last week, U.S. president Donald Trump, responding to backlash over DOGE’s sweeping budget cuts, urged that reductions be done carefully. “We say the ‘scalpel’ rather than the ‘hatchet,'” Trump wrote on Truth Social, signaling a move to rein in Musk’s influence.
Trump also convened his cabinet to clarify that department heads, not Musk, were in control of their agencies.
Meanwhile, Monday’s X outage left tens of thousands of users unable to access the platform for hours. At its peak, more than 40,000 users reported issues, according to monitoring services.
Since Musk acquired Twitter for $44 billion in late 2022, the platform has faced frequent technical disruptions, with critics blaming drastic layoffs that slashed X’s workforce, including engineers responsible for site stability. Under his leadership, X has also reinstated accounts of right-wing conspiracy theorists and Trump, while advocacy groups accuse the platform of becoming a hub for misinformation.
