Elon Musk’s X Sees Popularity Slide After Election — While Threads, Bluesky Make Gains

Topline

Elon Musk’s X, formerly known as Twitter, has experienced a drop off in U.S. user traffic since November’s presidential election—when he used his account to rally support for President Trump—while rival social media platforms Threads and Bluesky have seen significant increases, according to data from digital market intelligence company Similarweb.

Key Facts

Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts: We’re launching text message alerts so you'll always know the biggest stories shaping the day’s headlines. Text “Alerts” to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here.

X Traffic Falls After An Election Day Peak

X’s daily web visits (calculated on a day-by-day basis) have fallen to 30.6 million since its Election Day peak of 46.5 million, according to Similarweb. Meanwhile, daily active iOS and Android users on X have slid 22.1% from Election Day to March 21, to 24.3 million, according to Similarweb.

Has X Suffered Because Of Musk’s Political Profile?

Unclear. Musk made thousands of posts to his over 200 million followers during the election that garnered over 33 billion views, according to The Washington Post. But Musk, who endorsed and funded Trump in the election and gained popularity among right-wing social media users, has since navigated a turbulent 2025. The billionaire received criticism for his role overseeing Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, concern he’s neglecting his role heading Tesla, which has seen a steep stock price drop, and continued backlash against a gesture he made in January likened to a Nazi salute, as well as Nazi-related posts and puns he published on X.

Why Did People Leave X—and Go To Bluesky—after The Election?

Some high-profile users flocked to Bluesky from X over the latter platform’s increasing popularity among the right-wing, as well as Musk’s amplification of right-wing stances on immigration, transgender people, diversity, equity and inclusion programs, voter fraud and more. Public figures such as actor Mark Hamill, journalist Don Lemon, author Stephen King, director Guillermo del Toro and others outright left X or reduced their posts on Musk’s platform following the election. Bluesky was regularly promoted—and derided—on X as a more Democrat-leaning alternative.

Key Background

Bluesky was co-founded by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and has been propped up as a partisan alternative platform to X, one that also allows users to make text-based posts and message others. The app was invite-only until last year and also allows users to block others, a welcome feature for some who have taken issue with the block feature on X. X no longer blocks users from seeing public posts from a user that has blocked them. Meta’s Threads platform was launched in 2023 as a competitor to X, and positioned as a way to “enable positive, productive conversations,” attempting to distance the platform from the partisan rancor on X. Threads posts are integrated into Instagram and Facebook feeds, making it easy for users on either platform to visit the app. Threads’ monthly active users reached 320 million in January, according to Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, a 45 million user increase from November.

Further Reading

A Timeline Of Elon Musk’s Terrible 24 Hours—A Dark Day For X, Tesla And More (Forbes)

What To Know About Bluesky—The Buzzy Social Media App Siphoning Users From Elon Musk’s X (Forbes)