Elon Musk has claimed that a “massive cyber-attack” was responsible for widespread outages on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. The billionaire suggested that the attack may have been orchestrated by a well-resourced group or even a nation-state, potentially originating from Ukraine.
X Faces Hours of Service Disruptions
Throughout Monday, X experienced intermittent service disruptions, preventing users from loading posts. Downdetector, a service that tracks online outages, recorded thousands of reports, with an initial surge around 5:45 AM, followed by a brief recovery before another wave of disruptions later in the day. The majority of issues were reported on the platform’s mobile app.
Users attempting to load tweets were met with an error message reading, “Something went wrong,” prompting them to reload the page.
Musk addressed the situation in a post on X, stating:
We get attacked every day, but this was done with a lot of resources. Either a large, coordinated group and/or a country is involved.”
However, Musk did not provide concrete evidence to support his claims.
Musk Suggests Ukrainian Involvement
Later in the day, during an interview with Fox Business, Musk doubled down on his allegations, suggesting that the attack may have originated from Ukraine.
“We’re not sure exactly what happened, but there was a massive cyber-attack to try and bring down the X system with IP addresses originating in the Ukraine area,” Musk stated.
The claim comes amid Musk’s increasingly strained relationship with the Ukrainian government. Over the weekend, he asserted that Ukraine’s “entire front line” would collapse without access to his Starlink satellite communication service. Additionally, he criticized U.S. Senator Mark Kelly, a supporter of continued aid to Ukraine, labelling him a “traitor.”
A Pattern of Unverified Cyber-Attack Claims
Musk has previously attributed X outages to cyber-attacks. When his live-streamed interview with Donald Trump crashed last year, he initially claimed it was due to a “massive DDoS attack.” However, a source later told The Verge that no such attack had occurred.
Broader Challenges for Musk’s Businesses
The disruptions at X add to a series of recent setbacks for Musk’s ventures.
SpaceX Mishap: On Friday, a SpaceX rocket exploded mid-flight, scattering debris near the Bahamas.
Tesla Under Pressure: A growing “Tesla takedown” movement has led to protests at dealerships, while Tesla’s stock price continues to slide, hitting its lowest point in months.
Political Tensions: Musk’s meeting with Donald Trump last week reportedly grew tense, with Trump hinting at curbing the billionaire’s influence over government agencies.
The Bottom Line
While Musk attributes X’s outages to a large-scale cyber-attack, no independent evidence has surfaced to confirm this claim. Given his history of making similar allegations without substantiation, the true cause of the disruption remains unclear. Meanwhile, mounting challenges across Musk’s business empire suggest that cyber-attacks may not be the only crisis he is facing.