On August 22nd, according to The Washington Post, a court document disclosed the list of investors of Elon Musk's company X, revealing the presence of many well-known investors and institutions.
The list includes 100 investors, among whom there are heavyweights such as the Saudi prince, famous venture capital firms, and the hip-hop singer Diddy and Jack Dorsey (JackDorsey) the founder of Twitter.
According to the court document obtained by The Washington Post, the shareholders of X company include well-known Silicon Valley venture capitalists and entrepreneurs, as well as a fund associated with the hip-hop artist Sean P. Diddy Combs. The document lists nearly 100 holding entities, although many of them seem to represent different funds controlled by the same company or individual. Other investors also include the venture capital firm Andreessen-Horowitz, Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud, Jack Dorsey, the founder and former chief executive of Twitter, and the venture capital firm 8VC jointly founded by Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale. Less well-known shareholders include the Italian financial services company UnipolSai SPA.
Although the identities of many large investors have been previously reported, X company has not publicly detailed all its investors. In response to a request for comment, X company did not respond.
This list of investors was initially secretly submitted in a lawsuit filed by former Twitter employees in 2023, who alleged that Musk failed to pay them certain fees after purchasing the company, violating the arbitration agreement. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press represented independent technology journalist Jacob Silverman in filing a motion in July to release these records.
On Tuesday, US District Judge Susan Ylstn approved Silverman's motion and ordered X company to submit an unedited copy in the litigation record. The Washington Post then downloaded the file from the court website. It is not yet clear when this file will be fully disclosed to the public.
Katie Townsend, the legal director of the Reporters Committee, said the court's ruling proves that the public has the right to know who the owner of X company is. Silverman previously wrote in a blog post that People have the right to know who plays such an important role in shaping public opinion in the United States and even the world.
Recently, Musk has made a number of reforms to the X platform, including the launch of new subscription options and an AI chat bot, but at the same time there have also been significant layoffs and content rule changes. Some experts believe that these changes may lead to more inappropriate content on the platform, which in turn repels users and advertisers. This month, X company also filed a lawsuit against the World Federation of Advertisers, alleging that its Global Alliance for Responsible Media program's online safety advice has damaged X company's revenue.
In addition, financial data shows that some banks and investment institutions are cautious about the prospects of X company. A mutual fund of Fidelity Investments valued its stake in X company at nearly $20 million in 2022, and now its value has significantly dropped to $560,000. And the banks that provided $1.3 billion in credit for Musk's Twitter deal have not sold these loans yet, indicating doubts about the long-term performance of X company.