Elon Musk's X Platform Hit by Massive Cyberattack

On Monday morning, Elon Musk's social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) experienced widespread outages and accessibility issues for thousands of users, primarily in the United States. According to Musk, the platform was hit by a "massive cyberattack" that seemed to originate from IP addresses in the Ukraine region.

The outages began around 5:30am ET, with over 20,000 users reporting problems accessing the platform on Downdetector. After a brief reprieve, the issues returned around 9:30am ET, this time impacting over 40,000 users. While some users were able to access X intermittently, the platform remained largely inaccessible for much of the morning.

In a live interview, Musk claimed the cyberattack appeared to be coordinated, potentially involving a large group or even a nation-state actor. However, there is no independent evidence to substantiate Musk's allegations at this time.

The outage came at an inopportune time, as many users were trying to access the platform to discuss the start of NFL free agency. As one user lamented on Downdetector, "on day 1 of the NFL free agency!? ELON Fix this."

The incident highlights the ongoing challenges and vulnerabilities faced by major social media platforms, which have become prime targets for various cyberattacks. While occasional outages are not uncommon for platforms of this scale, the scale and timing of this particular incident has raised concerns.

Musk, who has taken an increasingly prominent and controversial role in government affairs under the Trump administration, has faced growing protests and scrutiny over his influence. The drop in Tesla's stock price and the backlash over his "DOGE" team's handling of government funding and programs have only added to the pressure.

As the platform continues to recover from the attack, questions remain about the true nature and origins of the incident. Musk's claims of a coordinated, state-sponsored cyberattack will likely require further investigation and verification before any definitive conclusions can be drawn.