Don't tell Elon Musk that X is hemorrhaging users

Summary

X has lost 2.7 million active monthly users in the U.S., dropping to 29.6 million.
BlueSky’s user base grew from 254,500 to 2.7 million since October 6.
X did see a huge influx of users on election day in the U.S., but began to drop again shortly afterward.

Since the 2024 U.S. election, it’s been widely reported in the media the rise of social media sites like Bluesky and Threads, which are seeing a considerable increase in new users due to people leaving X, formerly Twitter, due to growing issues on the social media platform since Elon Musk acquired it.

The Guardian reports, based on data from Similarweb, that X has lost 2.7 million active users in the U.S. in the last two months, dropping from 32.3 million to 29.6 million. Meanwhile, Bluesky’s daily active user base has grown from 254,500 to approximately 2.7 million since October 6.

Of course, its possible this could be a short-term loss of users for X, but other data suggests it might not be.

Threads copies Bluesky feature as both look to replace X

Threads is testing a new customs feed feature which lets user curate the content they see.

X saw a large increase in users on election day

A temporary boost followed by another drop

Kelly Sikkema/Unsplash

X’s traffic always benefits from significant world events, and the 2024 U.S. election was no exception. The social media site saw a massive increase in traffic on election day. However, according to the data from Similarweb, it soon began steadily dropping in users again just days afterward.

X’s exodus of users is expected to continue into 2025 as well. According to Emarketer (via Mashable), from the day Elon Musk acquired X in 2022 until 2025, they project X to have lost 7 million monthly active users in the U.S. Across the pond, The Guardian reported in September that X had lost almost one-third of its daily active user base in the UK in the past year.

While X’s user base declines, Bluesky’s continues trending upward. Earlier this month, it was reported that the social media platform had hit 24 million users. On the other hand, Meta’s X alternative Threads is also growing in popularity, and as of November 2024, it now has 275 million monthly active users. It will be interesting to see what happens to X in 2025 and if it can recover some of its lost users while its competitors seem poised to continue growing.