Elon Musk plans to make Twitter huge — even by the standards of the man who built Tesla and SpaceX.
Musk prepared a pitch deck for investors, a copy of which was obtained by The New York Times. Although the times did not speak with Musk about the deck’s contents, it reported on the deck.
Musk is in the process of buying Twitter in a mammoth deal that will take months to complete. So for now, all Musk can do is dream — and he is dreaming big.
Musk projects that the changes he will make at Twitter will generate more than five times its current $5 billion annual revenue, hitting $26.4 billion by 2028.
I strongly believe that all managers in a technical area must be technically excellent.
Managers in software must write great software or it’s like being a cavalry captain who can’t ride a horse!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 6, 2022
When he unveiled his offer to buy Twitter, Musk wrote in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, “Twitter has extraordinary potential. I will unlock it.”
His pitch deck reveals a man thinking of vast potential.
Will Elon Musk’s Twitter deal go through?
Twitter has 217 million users. By 2025, Musk projects that will hit 600 million, and by 2028, there will be over 900 million Twitter users.
Twitter Blue, which will cost $3 a month and allow subscribers to customize Twitter, will have 69 million users by 2025 and 159 million in 2028, according to Musk.
I strongly believe that all managers in a technical area must be technically excellent.
Managers in software must write great software or it’s like being a cavalry captain who can’t ride a horse!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 6, 2022
Musk added a sense of mystery to the show by estimating that by 2028, 104 million users will have signed up for a product he called X.
While the Times said that X wasn’t outlined in detail, the article stated Musk hinted that Twitter could offer an ad-free experience as a possibility. Whatever it is, Musk’s vision for X begins in 2023 with nine million users.
Twitter will always be free for casual users, but maybe a slight cost for commercial/government users
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 3, 2022
Musk’s plan to buy Twitter has driven employees bonkers, from concern about workplace culture to a focus on their very jobs.
Musk projects long-term workforce growth. Twitter has about 7,500 employees, which Musk estimates will increase to 9,225 this year before tumbling to 8,332 in 2023. Hiring then begins and continues until by 2025, Twitter has 11,072 workers.
Given the timing of any potential deal, which is not likely to be completed until late this year, it would realistically be 2023 before Musk could take sufficient hold of the company to realign its workforce.
Musk also plans to have advertising provide a smaller share of Twitter’s revenue than it does now, projecting that subscriptions and other operations, such as data licensing, will increase. Ads are now about 90 percent of Twitter’s revenue.
Musk’s other goals include developing a payments business that nets Twitter $15 million in revenue; achieving a level of average revenue per user to $30.22 in 2028, up from the current level of $24.83; and having a free cash flow level of $9.4 billion.
