The X platform (formerly Twitter) suffered a series of major outages on Monday, March 10, 2025, leaving thousands of users unable to access the service for several hours. Faced with this situation, Elon Musk declared that the platform was the target of a “massive cyberattack” carried out with considerable resources.
In an interview with Fox News, he said the IP addresses associated with the attack appeared to come from “the Ukrainian region.” While these claims have yet to be supported by concrete evidence, they come at a time when the billionaire has already been on a rollercoaster ride, with his political and business actions provoking intense controversy.
An unusual breakdown
The first problems were reported around 5:30 a.m. ET, according to Downdetector, a site that tracks online service outages. More than 20,000 users reported difficulties accessing X by early this morning.
After a temporary restoration, a new wave of disruptions occurred around 9:30 a.m., this time affecting more than 40,000 users. Although some were able to access the platform intermittently, the malfunctions persisted until early afternoon.
While occasional outages are common for platforms of this magnitude, their duration and intensity make this one exceptional. One frustrated user even commented on Downdetector: “Day one of NFL free agency!? ELON, fix this.”
Accusations without tangible evidence
Elon Musk took to X to explain the situation: “There was (and still is) a massive cyberattack on X. We are being attacked every day, but this one was done with a lot of resources. Either a large coordinated group or a country is involved. Tracing is underway...”
There was (still is) a massive cyberattack against 𝕏.
We get attacked every day, but this was done with a lot of resources. Either a large, coordinated group and/or a country is involved.
Tracing … https://t.co/aZSO1a92no
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 10, 2025Later in the day, during a live interview on Fox News, he added that the IP addresses linked to the attack appeared to originate “from the Ukrainian region. ”A statement made as Musk is already under fire for his controversial role in the Trump administration and his involvement in the Russia-Ukraine conflict via his Starlink service.
That said, no evidence has yet been provided to support these claims. According to some cybersecurity experts interviewed by NBC News, the symptoms observed could be consistent with a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack, a common method of saturating a website to make it inaccessible.
A tense political and economic context
The outages come at a particularly difficult time for Musk. As head of the Department of Government Efficiency ( DOGE ) under the Trump administration, he oversaw drastic cuts to government funding and federal jobs. Those decisions sparked massive protests in the United States and abroad.
Tensions have also spilled over into acts of vandalism targeting Tesla, including arson attacks near Berlin and at several charging stations in the United States. Tesla shares also fell more than 10% on Monday amid a selloff in the markets.
Whether proven or not, the announcement of a cyberattack against X fuels a narrative where Musk positions himself as a target for his political and economic detractors.