Twitter has lost half of its value since Musk acquired it

Twitter has lost more than half of its value since Elon Musk bought the company.

The tycoon suggested to staff that the social media group was worth just £16billion – around £20billion less than the £36billion he paid in October.

Musk, 51, who has dubbed himself “Chief Twit,” said he paid “obviously too much” for Twitter.

Slump: Reports suggest more than 500 major advertisers have suspended spending on Twitter since Elon Musk (pictured) bought it

More than 500 major advertisers have reportedly stopped spending on the site since Musk bought it, with daily earnings down 40 percent from a year ago.

Musk, who also runs electric car makers Tesla and SpaceX, told employees that Twitter should be considered a “reverse start-up” as he attempts to rebrand the company, saying “Twitter is undergoing a rapid transformation.”

He defended his decision to lay off many employees, saying the social media company’s “radical changes” were necessary to save money, according to reports from tech site The Information.

Twitter laid off more than half of its 7,000 employees just days after it was acquired by the South African-born billionaire.

Dan Ives, technical analyst at Wedbush Securities said, “Musk knew he was paying way too much for Twitter, but when he looked under the hood, it was a lot worse than he feared.”