One of the less discussed blowbacks from the public feud between Elon Musk and President Trump is that any chance of the X mogul possibly buying Truth Social to combine it with his social media site is kaput, On The Money has learned. But the kiss-and-make-up between the two — which may be in the works – could get tongues wagging once again that Elon will throw Trump’s troubled social-media platform a lifeline.
Let’s recap the situation: Musk’s potential purchase of the president’s social media platform has been widely speculated among traders since the two men became besties sometime around the beginning of the 2024 election cycle – when Elon turned MAGA.
The theory goes something like this: Truth Social is ripe for a takeover. Its parent company, Trump Media and Technology Group, lost $400 million last year on revenues of a paltry $3.6 million. On its best days, it can get nearly 2 million daily users – small potatoes compared with the 36 million that can be found on X when it’s running hot.
Trump Media is hovering around $20 a share with a market cap of $5.7 billion. Pocket change for Elon, who is worth $414 billion, according to Forbes. What better way to curry favor with the world’s most powerful businessman-turned-president than by putting money in his pocket?
That was before the battle of the titans. Trump Media tanked on Day 1 of the social media insults (as did Musk’s Tesla, which is reliant on government handouts for some of its revenues), as the buyout talk abated. Unlike Tesla, Truth Social hasn’t recovered and remains in the red. The culprit, savvy market types tell On The Money, is that buying Trump Media is the last thing on Musk’s mind after last week’s tit-for-tat.
Short interest appears to be growing in Truth Social as well, meaning traders that are betting the stock will collapse. It’s around 12% of the float of available shares, according to Bob Sloan of S3 Partners, the world’s expert in data surrounding this corner of the market. (Full disclosure: Sloan is my “Risk and Reward” podcast partner).
Traders tell me the number would be higher were it not for the persistent speculation of Musk swooping in and buying the Trump platform as a favor to his pal, and because of what happened next: Elon has been looking to make amends with The Donald, posting that his attacks on the president went too far on Wednesday. Trump is now saying he’s open to kiss and make up.
Love is in the air. Maybe, but recall Elon went all in on MAGA and Trump because he was tired of the woke ruling ethos of the Democratic Party. Even more, Musk is a businessman, and his businesses rely on the federal government — aka Trump — for various contracts and tax credits. Maybe it’s time for Musk to again become Trump’s “First Buddy” by throwing Truth Social that lifeline.
There are certainly other reasons why Truth Social’s stock hasn’t completely cratered. It’s owned by Trump, whose name recognition is second to none. His postings generate interest. The company is rolling out new features, like a streaming service, and it’s looking to expand the president’s already formidable crypto presence.
It is being pitched to investors as a new, nascent stage business that has a bright future, even if the numbers suggest otherwise..
It’s also takeover bait if Elon really wants to kiss and make up.
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