The value of Elon Musk’s social media platform, X, has reportedly soared back to the $44bn [approximately Ksh5 trillion] he paid for it, in a dramatic reversal of fortunes since the billionaire became a key ally of Donald Trump.

Investors valued the site formerly known as Twitter at $44bn [approximately Ksh5T] in a secondary deal earlier this month, in which they exchanged existing stakes in the company, according to a Financial Times report.

X, which is also working on raising $2bn [approximately Ksh258 billion] in fresh capital in a primary funding round selling new equity to pay off more than $1bn [approximately Ksh129 billion] in junior debt, had been valued at just $10bn [approximately Ksh1.2 trillion] by the existing investor Fidelity Investments as recently as late September.

Musk, the world’s richest man, took control of what was then Twitter in October 2022 and subsequently tweeted “the bird is free,” in a reference to its corporate logo. The following summer, he rebranded the platform as X.

Since taking over, Musk has loosened the site’s moderation policies, which prompted many advertisers to pause or leave. Musk subsequently said that advertisers were trying to “blackmail” him with boycotts and hit out in a profanity-laced outburst in a session at the New York Times DealBook Summit in November 2023.

X subsequently sued a global advertising alliance and several big companies, including Unilever, Mars and CVS Health, accusing them of unlawfully conspiring to shun the social network and intentionally causing it to lose revenue.

“We tried peace for 2 years; now it is war,” Musk tweeted after the launch of the legal action.

The new $44bn [approximately Ksh5T] valuation represents a remarkable turnaround for the platform and its investors, which include Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, 8VC, Goanna Capital and Fidelity Investments. The secondary deal will set a price for the primary fund raise of $2 billion [approximately Ksh129 billion].

X revenues have fallen since Musk’s takeover, but it posted adjusted profits of $1.2bn [approximately Ksh155 billion] last year.

It comes after it emerged that Musk’s vast stake in Tesla was no longer the most valuable asset in his business empire, with the electric car company’s market value continuing to fall as investors sold off stock and customers turned away in disgust at his politics.

Musk’s stake in SpaceX, his private rockets and satellite business, is now the tycoon’s largest asset for the first time in five years, according to Forbes.

Forbes still estimates his net worth at $323bn [approximately Ksh41 trillion], with Musk’s SpaceX stake worth an estimated $147b [approximately Ksh19 trillion], about $20bn [approximately Ksh2 trillion] more than his shares in Tesla after the carmaker’s shares halved since December.