The X platform (formerly Twitter) suffered one of the worst outages in its history this week, plunging millions of users into digital silence. In response, its iconic owner, Elon Musk, promised to work 24/7 without a break to resolve the situation. A divisive action: for some, it’s proof of dedicated leadership; for others, it’s the sign of a boss overwhelmed by events.
A global blackout that makes noise
It all started with what many initially thought was a minor bug: news feeds refused to load, private messages were inaccessible, and many accounts displayed critical errors. Within an hour, X went completely offline worldwide, affecting journalists, businesses, influencers, and governments.
The outage lasted nearly nine hours in some areas, an eternity in today’s ultra-connected world.
Musk, the man on a mission
Minutes after confirming the outage, Elon Musk posted a message on his own X platform (via unaffected internal access):
“I won’t sleep until X is back. I take this personally.”
Since then, inside sources say Musk has barely left X’s San Francisco headquarters, holding technical meetings at all hours, testing lines of code, and even sleeping on a couch in his office—behavior reminiscent of his early days at Tesla and SpaceX.
A heroic leader?
For his supporters, Musk’s attitude is proof of a leader who is wholeheartedly committed to his businesses. The hashtag #MuskNeverSleeps quickly spread on X and Instagram, accompanied by montages glorifying his devotion.
“Few CEOs would get their hands dirty like him. He’s hands-on, not just behind a desk giving orders,” comments Jeanne Morel, a Parisian tech entrepreneur.
Or desperate damage control?
But not everyone is impressed. Critics point out that Musk himself may be responsible for this chaotic situation.
Since acquiring Twitter in 2022 and transforming it into X, Musk has made radical changes to the company’s structure: mass layoffs, elimination of key cybersecurity and engineering positions, adoption of still-unstable technologies… For some experts, this breakdown was predictable.
“When you cut staff and impose innovations in ‘move fast and break things’ mode, you end up… breaking everything,” says Romain Lefevre, a former software engineer at Meta, coldly.
Mental health in question
Musk’s statement, while powerful in media terms, also raises a mental health issue. Working without sleep or breaks may seem heroic, but it’s also dangerous behavior, especially coming from an influential leader.
“It’s the image of the sacrificial genius that we continue to glorify in tech. But it’s neither sustainable nor desirable. And it doesn’t necessarily inspire good practices within teams,” warns occupational psychologist Claire Martin.
What are the consequences for X?
The outage resulted in an estimated financial loss of tens of millions of dollars in advertising revenue, not to mention a loss of user trust. Some influencers and businesses are already talking about migrating to other platforms, at least temporarily.
Musk promised a thorough technical investigation and “major structural improvements,” but did not elaborate. A press conference is scheduled for the coming days.
Verdict: Hero or arsonist firefighter?
Elon Musk is a master storyteller. He knows how to turn a crisis into an epic saga. But this time, can the magic still work? Can he present himself as the savior of a problem he himself helped create?
No matter the answer, one thing is certain: the world is watching. And in the cutthroat world of social media, every glitch, every word, every gesture can make—or break—an empire.
X may be back online, but the media storm is far from over.
