Twitter Down: Elon Musk Links Outage to ‘Massive Cyber-Attack’
On Monday afternoon, Twitter Down became a trending topic as Elon Musk claimed that X, formerly known as Twitter, had suffered a “massive cyber-attack.” The platform experienced widespread outages throughout the day, with many users unable to load posts or access their timelines. Musk stated that the attack was highly coordinated and involved significant resources.
“We get attacked every day, but this was done with a lot of resources,” Musk posted on X. “Either a large, coordinated group and/or a country is involved.” Despite his claims, Musk did not provide direct evidence linking the outage to a specific entity.
According to Downdetector, a site that tracks online service disruptions, reports of Twitter Down began spiking at around 5:45 AM before temporarily stabilizing. However, by midday, another wave of outages hit, primarily affecting mobile users. Many users received an error message stating, “Something went wrong,” when attempting to load tweets.
Musk’s statement came in response to a cryptocurrency influencer who speculated that the Twitter Down incident might be connected to other attacks on Musk’s enterprises. Over the past week, Tesla dealerships have faced vandalism, and Musk has received criticism for his “department of government efficiency” initiative.
Later in the day, Musk reiterated his cyber-attack claims in an interview with Fox Business. He suggested that IP addresses linked to the Twitter Down incident originated from the Ukraine region. “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 said.
Musk has previously been vocal about his criticism of Ukraine, especially as relations between its government and the Trump administration have strained. Over the weekend, he claimed that Ukraine’s “entire front line” would collapse without his Starlink satellite service. Additionally, he attacked Democratic Senator Mark Kelly for supporting Ukraine, calling him a “traitor.”
This is not the first time Musk has linked platform failures to cyber-attacks. Following a crash during his livestreamed interview with Donald Trump last year, he suggested a “massive DDOS attack” was responsible. However, a source from the company later told The Verge that there was no such attack, instead attributing the failure to internal technical issues.
The latest Twitter Down incident adds to a growing list of challenges facing Musk’s businesses. On Friday, a SpaceX rocket exploded mid-flight, scattering debris near the Bahamas. Meanwhile, Tesla has faced nationwide protests, declining stock prices, and reports of owners selling their vehicles in response to controversies surrounding the company.
Adding to the turmoil, Musk recently met with Trump and his cabinet secretaries in what was described as an intense discussion. Reports suggest that Trump, frustrated with Musk’s influence over government staff, hinted at measures to limit the billionaire’s power in Washington.
As Twitter Down continues to affect users globally, speculation remains high about the true cause of the outage. Whether it was indeed a cyber-attack or an internal technical failure, the situation highlights the vulnerabilities of Musk’s ever-expanding business empire.
