Elon Musk vs. Mark Zuckerberg: Threads Closing the Gap on X in Mobile Usage
Billionaires Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg nearly faced off in a cage match over their competing social media platforms. And if Musk sees the latest usage metrics from Threads — Meta’s rival to his platform X — he might just be tempted to bring up the fight again.
Meta launched Threads in 2023, billing it as a potential “X killer” designed to lure users away from Musk’s platform. Fast forward to 2025, Threads has surpassed 350 million registered users, and new data suggests it’s gaining serious ground — at least in one key area.
According to data from Similarweb shared by TechCrunch, Threads had 115.1 million daily active mobile users in June, a 127.8% increase year-over-year. This figure puts Threads closer to X than ever before.
X, meanwhile, recorded 132 million daily active mobile users in June — down 15.2% year-over-year.
Another challenger, Bluesky, still lags behind both, with 4.1 million daily active mobile users in June. However, that number marks a massive 372.5% year-over-year increase.
In the U.S. alone, the competition is heating up. X had 33.1 million daily active mobile users in June, compared to 15.3 million for Threads. Bluesky came in with around 1.1 million U.S. users.
Overall, Threads is clearly gaining momentum on mobile while X continues to see a slow decline. The mobile usage gap is shrinking, and Meta has confirmed it recently surpassed 350 million monthly active users on Threads — with plans underway to further monetize the platform.
Still, X remains dominant in one crucial metric: web traffic.
In June, X logged 145.8 million daily web visits, compared to just 6.9 million for Threads and 5.3 million for Bluesky. In the U.S., X again led with 33.1 million daily web visits. Threads had only 985,200, and Bluesky recorded 2.4 million.
This data shows that X continues to be one of the most visited social platforms online, while Threads — originally designed for mobile — has yet to establish a strong presence on the web.
So, while X maintains its overall lead, the rapid mobile growth of Threads and the simultaneous decline in X’s usage signal a shifting landscape.
And there’s more at stake than just platform metrics. Musk and Zuckerberg aren’t only tech rivals — they’re also the two richest people on the planet. Musk remains number one with a net worth of $349 billion, according to Bloomberg, while Zuckerberg follows with $254 billion.
Interestingly, their financial trajectories mirror their platforms. Musk’s net worth has dropped by $83.9 billion so far in 2025, largely due to Tesla stock falling 22%. Meanwhile, Zuckerberg’s fortune has grown by $46.9 billion this year, with Meta stock up 22%.
In short, while X still leads the pack, Threads is surging — and the rivalry between these two billionaires is far from over.