Monthly users of social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, reached a "new high", owner Elon Musk said on Friday.
He shared a graph on X that showed the latest count as more than 540 million.
“Also, this is after removal of a vast number of bots,” he wrote.
The social media platform rebranded as X on Monday. The microblogging platform’s famous blue bird symbol has also been replaced.
Mr Musk, the world’s richest person, replaced his profile picture with the X symbol. The official Twitter account did the same.
Meanwhile, a giant X sign was installed on top of the building formerly known as Twitter headquarters in San Francisco on Friday.
Mr Musk has long been fascinated with the letter X. One of his children is called “X”. The child’s name is a collection of letters and symbols.
He has also used the letter X in many of his companies and products, from SpaceX (2002) to the Tesla Model X, first released in 2015.
The billionaire has made a series of changes since his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter in October.
In April, Twitter was merged with Mr Musk’s firm X Corp, which was established in March. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of X Holdings Corp, also owned by Mr Musk.
In the past, he has indicated that acquiring Twitter would be an “accelerant” for creating X, an “everything app”. He said he intended to make X similar to WeChat, China's most popular messaging service.
Mr Musk’s post is the latest in a series of comments from X’s executives claiming increase in usage, after Meta Platforms unveiled a rival platform called Threads on July 5.
Twitter had 229 million monthly active users in May 2022, according to a statement made before Mr Musk’s acquisition of the company in October.
Mr Musk posted in November that X had 259.4 million daily active users.
The changes to the platform are part of efforts aimed at boosting user experience and diversifying Twitter's revenue sources, according to Mr Musk.
Mr Musk told the BBC in April that Twitter was roughly breaking even and would become cash-flow positive in the coming quarters as advertisers return.
However, the billionaire said this month that X’s cash flow was negative because of a nearly 50 per cent drop in advertising revenue and a heavy debt load, without offering details.
In May, he named former NBC Universal advertising chief Linda Yaccarino as chief executive of X in a sign that ad sales were a priority.
As part of the revamp following his takeover, Mr Musk said in May that video and voice calls were “coming soon” to the platform.
With the move, Twitter would take on other established apps that offer the same feature, most notably those from Meta Platforms, which include Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.
Twitter also said it was also moving forward with plans to introduce a payments feature, steering it towards Mr Musk's goal of tapping into new revenue streams, the Financial Times reported in January.
In December, Twitter also relaunched Twitter Blue, the platform's top-tier account, which indicates that a user is verified, as a paid subscription service.
The premium feature’s fees start at $8 a month for individuals, with joiners getting subscriber-only features including Edit Tweet, 1080p video uploads, reader mode, the coveted blue check mark and longer tweets.
The costs of keeping the ticks start at $1,000 a month for organisations, plus $50 monthly for each affiliate or employee account.
Meanwhile, this month, he announced that Twitter would be temporarily limiting the number of tweets people can read in a day.
The limits are at 10,000 posts per day for verified users, 1,000 posts per day for unverified users and 500 posts per day for new unverified users, Mr Musk said.
Abaya trends
The utilitarian robe held dear by Arab women is undergoing a change that reveals it as an elegant and graceful garment available in a range of colours and fabrics, while retaining its traditional appeal.
match info
Chelsea 2
Willian (13'), Ross Barkley (64')
Liverpool 0
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Read more about the coronavirus
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
US tops drug cost charts
The study of 13 essential drugs showed costs in the United States were about 300 per cent higher than the global average, followed by Germany at 126 per cent and 122 per cent in the UAE.
Thailand, Kenya and Malaysia were rated as nations with the lowest costs, about 90 per cent cheaper.
In the case of insulin, diabetic patients in the US paid five and a half times the global average, while in the UAE the costs are about 50 per cent higher than the median price of branded and generic drugs.
Some of the costliest drugs worldwide include Lipitor for high cholesterol.
The study’s price index placed the US at an exorbitant 2,170 per cent higher for Lipitor than the average global price and the UAE at the eighth spot globally with costs 252 per cent higher.
High blood pressure medication Zestril was also more than 2,680 per cent higher in the US and the UAE price was 187 per cent higher than the global price.
'Laal Kaptaan'
Director: Navdeep Singh
Stars: Saif Ali Khan, Manav Vij, Deepak Dobriyal, Zoya Hussain
Rating: 2/5
What drives subscription retailing?
Once the domain of newspaper home deliveries, subscription model retailing has combined with e-commerce to permeate myriad products and services.
The concept has grown tremendously around the world and is forecast to thrive further, according to UnivDatos Market Insights’ report on recent and predicted trends in the sector.
The global subscription e-commerce market was valued at $13.2 billion (Dh48.5bn) in 2018. It is forecast to touch $478.2bn in 2025, and include the entertainment, fitness, food, cosmetics, baby care and fashion sectors.
The report says subscription-based services currently constitute “a small trend within e-commerce”. The US hosts almost 70 per cent of recurring plan firms, including leaders Dollar Shave Club, Hello Fresh and Netflix. Walmart and Sephora are among longer established retailers entering the space.
UnivDatos cites younger and affluent urbanites as prime subscription targets, with women currently the largest share of end-users.
That’s expected to remain unchanged until 2025, when women will represent a $246.6bn market share, owing to increasing numbers of start-ups targeting women.
Personal care and beauty occupy the largest chunk of the worldwide subscription e-commerce market, with changing lifestyles, work schedules, customisation and convenience among the chief future drivers.
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
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Business Insights
- As per the document, there are six filing options, including choosing to report on a realisation basis and transitional rules for pre-tax period gains or losses.
- SMEs with revenue below Dh3 million per annum can opt for transitional relief until 2026, treating them as having no taxable income.
- Larger entities have specific provisions for asset and liability movements, business restructuring, and handling foreign permanent establishments.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Going grey? A stylist's advice
If you’re going to go grey, a great style, well-cared for hair (in a sleek, classy style, like a bob), and a young spirit and attitude go a long way, says Maria Dowling, founder of the Maria Dowling Salon in Dubai.
It’s easier to go grey from a lighter colour, so you may want to do that first. And this is the time to try a shorter style, she advises. Then a stylist can introduce highlights, start lightening up the roots, and let it fade out. Once it’s entirely grey, a purple shampoo will prevent yellowing.
“Get professional help – there’s no other way to go around it,” she says. “And don’t just let it grow out because that looks really bad. Put effort into it: properly condition, straighten, get regular trims, make sure it’s glossy.”
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Chad%20Stahelski%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Keanu%20Reeves%2C%20Laurence%20Fishburne%2C%20George%20Georgiou%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
1971: The Year The Music Changed Everything
Director: Asif Kapadia
4/5
TOUR DE FRANCE INFO
Dates: July 1-23
Distance: 3,540km
Stages: 21
Number of teams: 22
Number of riders: 198
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Seemar’s top six for the Dubai World Cup Carnival:
1. Reynaldothewizard
2. North America
3. Raven’s Corner
4. Hawkesbury
5. New Maharajah
6. Secret Ambition
