Metaverse and the New World of the Internet

Twitter adds 30 million new users in the run-up to Musk's sale

Twitter, which has agreed to be bought by billionaire Elon Musk, said its user numbers had grown faster than expected over the past year.

Ad revenue also increased, but by a smaller percentage than expected.

Some observers have questioned Mr Musk's commercial judgment in buying Twitter, a platform that has not generated consistently high returns despite its prestige.

In the last quarter, it generated profits of $513m (£412m) and revenue of $1.2bn.

Ads by Eonads

The company, which published its latest financial results, said that the number of daily active users of the platform rose to 229 million, compared to 199 million in the previous year.

New users grew faster outside the US, at 18.1% than in the domestic market where numbers rose 6.4% over the 12 months to the end of March.

Ads by Eonads

When publishing its results, the company said it had withdrawn all previously provided guidance on its immediate business outlook.

But it said revenue was affected by "the headwinds associated with the war in Ukraine".

Musk's purchase will likely take several months to complete, after which the company will become privately owned.

While Mr Musk did not elaborate on his exact plans for the platform, he did talk about limiting ads and cracking down on "bots" or automated accounts. He has also sparked controversy by suggesting that there may be a new approach to how Twitter is modifying freedom of expression.