Thousands of users of X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, faced outages early Saturday morning. Starting at around 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time, people across the United States began reporting trouble accessing the service. These problems affected both the mobile app and the desktop website, leaving many unable to log in or use key features.
Widespread Disruptions Reported Early Saturday
Data from Downdetector, a popular website that tracks service outages, showed a sharp rise in complaints. By 8:26 a.m. ET, over 25,000 users in the U.S. reported problems with X. The issues ranged from difficulty loading feeds to problems sending tweets and connecting to servers. The number of reports slowly fell throughout the morning, reaching about 690 by 11:30 a.m., signaling some recovery.
Users in the United Kingdom were also affected. More than 11,000 people reported connection issues there, with additional reports coming from other countries around the world. Because Downdetector collects information based on user submissions, the real number of people impacted may be even higher.
Fire at Oregon Data Center Tied to Outage
The root cause of the disruption appears to be a fire that broke out at a data center in Hillsboro, Oregon. This facility is leased by X and serves as a key part of the platform’s network infrastructure. The fire happened early Thursday morning and quickly led to major service disruptions that lasted through Friday and into Saturday.
According to monitoring data, user complaints began rising around 2:00 p.m. ET on Thursday. Later that evening, X’s official developer status page acknowledged the platform-wide outage. Although engineers reported the problem as “resolved” on Friday, users continued to experience trouble logging in and using some functions.
X’s technical team has confirmed that efforts to fully restore service are ongoing. They are also investigating the underlying causes to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Elon Musk Comments on Infrastructure Failures
Elon Musk, who owns X and recently sold the platform to his AI company xAI, addressed the outage on Saturday. Responding to a user who connected the outage to the Oregon fire, Musk admitted that failover systems designed to maintain service during emergencies had failed. He said the platform urgently needs infrastructure upgrades to handle such incidents better.
Musk also revealed that his teams have been working around the clock to fix the issues. Despite juggling multiple projects—including X, xAI, Tesla, and preparations for a SpaceX Starship launch—Musk said engineers are focused on stabilizing the platform.
Earlier on Saturday, X’s engineering team posted a message thanking users for their patience. They promised ongoing updates as they work to resolve the problems fully.
Previous Outages and Ongoing Challenges
This is not the first time X has faced significant technical issues recently. In March, the platform suffered a major outage. Musk explained that incident was due to a large cyberattack targeting the service.
X has faced challenges maintaining consistent uptime while also handling rapid changes under Musk’s leadership. In 2024, X announced it had about 250 million daily active users, making it one of the world’s largest social platforms. However, keeping the service stable for such a huge audience remains a challenge.
Adding to the complexity, Musk sold X to xAI on March 28, a move that signals his interest in integrating AI technology more deeply into the platform. It remains unclear how this transition might affect the platform’s technical operations in the long term.
Impact on Users and the Social Media Landscape
The outage caused frustration among users who rely on X for news, communication, and social connection. Many took to other platforms to express their annoyance and check for updates. For businesses, influencers, and everyday users alike, such disruptions can cause significant inconvenience.
Social media outages have wider implications too. In an age where information spreads instantly, platforms like X play a critical role in public discourse and emergency communication. Extended downtime raises questions about the resilience of these digital networks.
What’s Next for X?
As X works to restore full service, experts suggest that the company must invest heavily in infrastructure improvements. Redundancy plans, disaster recovery, and stronger failover systems are essential to avoid future outages linked to physical events like fires or natural disasters.
Elon Musk’s acknowledgment of these issues is a positive step, but many users remain cautious. The platform’s reputation for reliability has taken a hit, and regaining user trust will be important.
Meanwhile, the company’s shift toward artificial intelligence with the launch of xAI could bring exciting new features but may also add layers of technical complexity.