Elon Musk’s social media platform X has encountered slowing user growth, contrasting its previous double-digit increases, as competition from Meta Platforms Inc’s (NASDAQ:META) Threads rises.

In the second quarter of this year, X reported 251 million global daily active users, a modest 1.6% increase compared to last year, the Financial Times reports.

Meta launched its rival platform, Threads, last year. As CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated, it has grown to 175 million monthly active users.

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However, analytics firm Sensor Tower estimates Threads has only 38 million daily active users, suggesting less frequent usage than other platforms.

X, rebranded under Musk’s leadership after his $44 billion acquisition, has seen advertisers leave partly due to his “free speech absolutist” stance and reduced content moderation, FT writes.

Despite the competition, X claims its monthly user numbers have significantly increased in the U.S. and U.K. from August 2023 to June 2024.

Meanwhile, Threads continues to grow, driven by celebrity sign-ups and its integration with Instagram, which provides around two-thirds of its web traffic, according to Similarweb, FT claims.

Meta aims to deliver more targeted and personalized ads on Threads by leveraging its expertise and success in digital advertising.

Price Action: META shares closed lower by 1.96% at $529.32 on Monday.

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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