Elon Musk claims a massive cyber-attack caused widespread outages on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. On Monday, users experienced intermittent service disruptions, with posts failing to load and error messages appearing across the platform. Musk suggested that a well-resourced group—or even a nation-state—was behind the attack.
X Suffers Major Outage Amid Cyber-Attack Allegations
According to Downdetector, a website that tracks online service disruptions, thousands of users reported outages early Monday morning around 5:45 AM. The platform briefly stabilized before experiencing another surge of issues by midday, primarily affecting the mobile app.
Posts that failed to load displayed an error message reading, “Something went wrong. Try reloading.”
Musk addressed the situation 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, he provided no concrete evidence to support his claim.
Musk Points to Ukraine as Potential Perpetrator
During an evening interview on Fox Business, Musk reiterated his cyber-attack theory, suggesting that the attack might 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,” he said.
Musk’s remarks come amid deteriorating relations between Ukraine and the Trump administration. Over the weekend, he claimed Ukraine’s “entire front line” would collapse without his Starlink satellite service. He also publicly criticized Democratic Senator Mark Kelly, calling him a “traitor” after Kelly discussed his visit to Ukraine.
A History of Cyber-Attack Claims
Musk has previously attributed X outages to cyber-attacks. When his live-streamed interview with Donald Trump crashed in 2023, he blamed a “massive DDoS attack.” However, an internal source later told The Verge that no such attack had occurred.
The recent X outages add to Musk’s growing list of challenges. On Friday, a SpaceX rocket exploded mid-flight, raining debris near the Bahamas. Meanwhile, Tesla is facing mounting backlash, with a wave of “Tesla takedown” protests targeting dealerships and reports of owners selling their vehicles. Tesla’s stock price also dropped to its lowest level in months on Monday.
Musk’s Influence Under Scrutiny
Musk’s increasing political involvement has drawn criticism, particularly his role in the Trump administration’s “Department of Government Efficiency.” Reports suggest that Trump recently held a tense meeting with Musk and his cabinet members, where he proposed limiting Musk’s influence over government staffing decisions.
As speculation continues over whether a massive cyber-attack truly took down X, Musk remains at the center of political, corporate, and technological controversy. Stay tuned on Techwey for further updates on this developing story.
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