The outage was linked to a large-scale cyberattack, according to X’s owner, Elon Musk.

Elon Musk claimed the attack was more sophisticated than usual, noting that a well-coordinated group or even a nation-state could be behind it. “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,” he posted on X. 

However, he did not elaborate on what he meant by “a lot of resources,” leaving room for speculation.

The incident was first reported around 9:45 UTC, with outage tracking site Downdetector recording a peak of over 39,000 affected users in the United States by 10 a.m. ET. Although reports of disruptions declined throughout the day, around 1,500 users were still experiencing issues by 5 p.m.

A source within the internet infrastructure sector confirmed that X was hit by multiple waves of a denial-of-service (DoS) attack. 

These attacks flood websites with excessive traffic, making them temporarily inaccessible. While effective in causing disruptions, DoS attacks are not necessarily complex and can be launched by individuals or small groups.

Musk later claimed in an interview with Fox Business Network’s Larry Kudlow that the attack originated from IP addresses linked to Ukraine. 

However, this account was challenged by an expert, who stated that most of the rogue traffic targeting X came from multiple locations, including the United States, Vietnam, and Brazil. “The amount of rogue traffic coming directly from Ukraine was insignificant,” the expert noted.

Tracing the origins of such cyberattacks is notoriously difficult, as attackers often mask their locations using various methods. IP addresses alone do not always reveal the true source, making attribution uncertain.

Musk’s comments on Ukraine result from his current objection to U.S. support for the country’s defence against Russia. He recently stated that Ukraine’s frontline “would collapse” without his Starlink satellite service but assured that he had no intention of cutting off access.

Despite the impact of the outage, X has not issued any official statement explaining the cause of the disruption. While service has gradually improved, some users continue to report occasional technical issues.

This has left tens of thousands of users unable to access the app. 

According to Downdetector, the outage has now affected over 40,000 users in the United States, more than the previous 21,000 reported issues earlier in the day.

Reports reveal that while the number of complaints initially declined, they later surged again, suggesting lingering technical issues.

Despite the impact, X has remained silent on the cause of the outage. The company has not provided any official explanation or responded to media inquiries regarding the disruption.

By 6:24 a.m. ET, user-reported issues had greatly decreased to 403 in the U.S. and around 200 in the U.K., showing a gradual recovery. However, some users still encountered occasional glitches.

Reports of the disruption, which initially affected over 21,000 users in the U.S. and 10,800 in the U.K., have greatly declined, according to data from outage-tracking website Downdetector.

By 6:24 a.m. ET, user-reported issues had dropped to 403 in the U.S. and around 200 in the U.K., pointing to a gradual restoration of services. 

Many users who previously received error messages, slow loading times, or an inability to refresh their feeds noted that the platform was becoming accessible again, though some intermittent issues persisted.

What Happened?

The outage, which began around 9:30 WAT (8:30 AM CET), left thousands frustrated as they struggled to log in, post updates, or view content. While the cause of the disruption is not yet known, the sudden drop in accessibility prompted complaints from users on alternative platforms like Facebook and Reddit.

Even with the scale of the disruption, X has not issued an official explanation for the outage or confirmed what led to the problem. The company also did not respond to media inquiries seeking clarification.

For now, services appear to be stabilising, though users may still experience occasional glitches. Further updates are expected if X releases an official statement regarding the incident.