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Elon Musk expects Twitter to hit cash flow break even next year

Credit: @BigImpactHumans/Twitter

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During a Twitter Spaces session hosted by noted hacker George Hotz, Tesla CEO Elon Musk shared some details about the social media company’s financials. These include Twitter’s previous trajectory, as well as when he expects the company to become cash flow break even.

Musk stayed in the Twitter Spaces session for roughly an hour, and he addressed a number of questions. Hotz, the host of the Twitter Spaces session, noted that not many CEOs, if any, actually participate in such sessions. That being said, Musk did not waste time, as he provided a number of notable details about Twitter.

Musk noted that Twitter was tracking to spend about $5 billion next year. Because of debt on transaction, $1.5 billion in debt servicing was required. Twitter’s revenue was also tracking to $3 billion. “So that’s like a negative cash flow situation of -$3bn next year. Not good,” Musk said. 

This, according to Musk, was why he spent the last five weeks “cutting costs like crazy.” “This company is like, basically, you are in a plane that is headed toward the ground at high speed with the engines on fire and the controls don’t work,” the Tesla CEO said. 

Musk was not exaggerating about this. Since his takeover, he has cut Twitter’s workforce by a notable degree, among other cost-cutting measures. But thanks to these efforts, Musk noted that he now expects Twitter to roughly hit the cash flow break even point next year. 

“I now think that Twitter will, in fact, be okay next year,” Musk said, though he admitted that accomplishing such a feat “will be difficult.” 

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Apart from his comments about Twitter’s financials, Musk also admitted to some of his errors as of late. These include the suspension of Paul Graham, a respected venture capitalist who has been supportive of Musk. “Yeah, that was a mistake,” Musk said, noting that Graham could post about rival social media platform Mastodon as much as he wanted. 

Elon Musk completed his acquisition of Twitter in October for $44 billion, partly funding the purchase through the use of nearly $13 billion in debt. The interest on this debt will result in annual repayments of approximately $1.5 billion, as noted by Bloomberg News. Musk has since laid off over half of Twitter’s staff, and he has announced that he is open to stepping down as CEO once a suitable replacement is identified.

Don’t hesitate to contact us with news tips. Just send a message to simon@teslarati.com to give us a heads up.

Simon is an experienced automotive reporter with a passion for electric cars and clean energy. Fascinated by the world envisioned by Elon Musk, he hopes to make it to Mars (at least as a tourist) someday. For stories or tips--or even to just say a simple hello--send a message to his email, simon@teslarati.com or his handle on X, @ResidentSponge.

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Energy

Tesla launches Powerwall Lease for affordable home backup

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla Energy has introduced the Powerwall Lease in conjunction with Tesla Electric, making the service available in Texas. This new option delivers whole-home backup power using two Powerwall units for a net monthly cost of $35 after credits, accompanied by a low fixed electricity rate.

Under the lease terms, customers pay a one-time order fee of $100. The base lease payment for the two Powerwalls is approximately $122 per month during the first year, subject to a 3 percent annual escalator thereafter. Enrollment in a qualifying Tesla Electric Backup plan or Virtual Power Plant plan provides an $87 monthly credit.

This credit lowers the effective cost to roughly $35 per month plus applicable tax.

Installation of the standard system carries no additional charge. The package features Storm Watch for outage protection and allows complete management through a single Tesla application. The system supplies continuous whole-home backup capability.

The Powerwall system enables households to maintain electricity during severe storms that disrupt the utility grid. When outages occur, the batteries automatically provide seamless backup power to the home.

Tesla announces 100k Powerwalls are participating in Virtual Power Plants

Tesla Storm Watch monitors weather forecasts and ensures the units are fully charged ahead of anticipated severe weather events so that power remains available throughout the disruption, keeping lights, refrigeration, and other essential systems operating without interruption.

Availability is restricted to select Texas locations where retail electric choice exists. Participants must lease exactly two Powerwall units and maintain continuous enrollment with Tesla Electric. Solar panels cannot be included under this particular lease arrangement.

The monthly credit activates automatically once the system is installed, receives permission to operate, and enrollment is confirmed. To retain the credit, customers are required to stay enrolled in Tesla Electric and fulfill all program conditions.

Nonstandard installations that involve electrical upgrades or special permitting may lead to extra expenses and might impact eligibility for the credit, so be sure to check with either your installer or Tesla to ensure you will still qualify.

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News

Elon Musk teases Tesla Roadster unveiling once again

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tesla roadster
Credit: Tesla

Elon Musk continues to tease the unveiling event for the Tesla Roadster, a continuing trend that has grown into a bigger game of “When” for fans who have been waiting years for the car to finally enter production.

A video shared on X of the Joe Rogan Experience podcast that Musk appeared on last year, teasing the Roadster unveiling, was shared once again on the social media platform. The poster said the Roadster event will be “unforgettable.”

Musk agreed:

The timing is interesting because just yesterday, Musk said that we will be getting flying cars, and for years, Tesla has hinted that it could develop a SpaceX cold gas thruster package that would help the car float or fly for a short period of time.

It would be reasonable to assume Tesla’s major delays with this unveiling event are likely caused by the company’s need to break the rules and push the envelope on nearly everything. Last July, Lars Moravy, Tesla’s VP of Vehicle Engineering, said:

“Roadster is definitely in development. We did talk about it last Sunday night. We are gearing up for a super cool demo. It’s going to be mind blowing. We showed Elon some cool demos last week of the tech we’ve been working on and he got a little excited.”

The latest updates that Tesla has given us are that the Roadster is in design development, and it did have several potential dates for an unveiling event this year, including April. It was then pushed to August.

However, there are no clues as to when Tesla will be ready, and fans are certainly getting frustrated with the delays.

For what it is worth, Franz von Holzhausen told Jay Leno this week that the event would be “very soon.”

We sure hope.

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Lifestyle

Tesla’s driverless Cybercab just passed a big test with State Governor

Florida’s governor rode Tesla’s Cybercab at a closed test track and called the experience impressive.

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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis rode in a Tesla Cybercab on a closed test track this week and came away impressed, posting on X that the vehicle “successfully navigated all hazards — a kid running into the street, a crash with police stopping traffic, a Model S cutting us off, etc.” He called the ride “impressive.”

The stop was part of a broader event Monday at SunTrax, a 775 acre state owned proving ground in Auburndale that Florida built specifically to test autonomous and connected vehicles before they reach public roads. Standing next to a gold Cybercab, DeSantis described the car in plain terms: “You go in there and you just sit. You have a screen. There’s no steering wheel, no pedals. Clearly these things could be very beneficial.”

DeSantis paired the praise with a caveat that has followed autonomous vehicles since the category existed. “You don’t want to be in an autonomous vehicle and it drives you into a ditch. That would not be good,” he said, framing safety validation as the gate before wider deployment.

SunTrax, the 2.25 mile oval which the state calls the only high speed autonomous vehicle test track in the Southeast, can simulate rain, pedestrian crossings, hills and crowded urban conditions at highway speeds, letting companies push a car past what an early public rollout would risk. Tesla, Waymo and Beep all use the facility, and Florida’s regulatory approach, among the most permissive for autonomous vehicles in the country, doesn’t require a human operator inside a fully autonomous car.

Tesla has reason to want the blessing of Florida and states beyond, as the Cybercab entered volume production at Gigafactory Texas this spring and has since self certified as SAE Level 4 under Texas law. Public road testing so far has kept a safety monitor in the passenger seat, and Florida is where Tesla has been expanding its existing Model Y based Robotaxi service instead, adding Miami in July and then Orlando and Tampa two weeks later. A closed track endorsement from a sitting governor doesn’t change any of that, but it does put Tesla’s newest hardware in front of a state that has already shown it will move fast on rules.

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