Elon Musk’s social media platform, X, hit a wall on Friday morning, leaving thousands of users in the United States staring at error messages instead of their feeds. The service disruption forced many to pause their scrolling just before the midday rush.
Data-tracking website Downdetector.com immediately picked up on the problem. The site, which monitors internet outages by gathering status reports from various sources, showed a sharp spike in complaints by 10:51 a.m. ET, the number of reports climbed past 19,500.
When a platform like X goes down, it usually means users cannot refresh their timelines, post new updates, or even log in to their accounts. Instead of the usual stream of news and memes, people likely saw the dreaded “Something went wrong” notification or a spinning loading wheel that never finished.
While 20,000 reports might sound manageable, this number often represents just the tip of the iceberg. Most people who encounter a glitch do not take the time to report it on a tracking site; they close the app and wait it out. Consequently, the actual number of frustrated users was likely much higher than the charts suggest.
Outages like this cause a ripple effect. Since X serves as a primary news source and digital town square for so many, silence on the app becomes noticeable very quickly. Users often flock to other networks like Threads or Bluesky to ask if “X is down” or to check if their own internet connection is the culprit.
This incident adds to the list of technical hiccups the platform has faced since Elon Musk took the helm. Changes to the site’s infrastructure and staffing often draw scrutiny whenever performance wobbles. For now, the data clearly points to a significant disruption affecting a large chunk of the American user base, leaving many waiting for stability to return so they can resume the conversation.
