Outage Alert: Twitter Users Sent 'Over Daily Limit' After Posting 1 Tweet

(Bloomberg) -- Twitter Inc. users from the US to Asia were unable to tweet, follow new accounts or check messages, in one of the higher-profile outages since Elon Musk bought the platform and fired half its staff.

Many users were unable to send tweets on Wednesday, instead getting an automated message saying they were “over the daily limit for sending Tweets” — even for those who hadn’t posted yet for the day. The billionaire tweeted hours after problems surfaced that he hoped to resolve “multiple internal and external issues,” without elaborating.

“Should be fully back on track later tonight,” Musk posted.

An exodus of workers — many of whom were fired — since Musk’s acquisition has raised concerns about whether Twitter can sustain its operations and regulate content. 

Users have expressed concern about a widespread Twitter breakdown since billionaire Musk took over the social network last year and immediately fired 50% of the company’s workforce. Many of those who left Twitter worked on core infrastructure projects that help keep the site operational. Some users and former employees openly fretted that such a sudden reduction in staff might lead to cascading product outages. 

Technical problems also plagued other features within the app on Wednesday. Some users were unable to access direct messages, and others couldn’t follow additional accounts. Tweetdeck, the feature for power users who like to manage multiple timelines at once, was also down for some people. 

Downdetector, a site that tracks technical outages for apps, showed a spike in user reports of trouble on the site, touching 9,500 just after 5:30 p.m. New York time before starting to decline. San Francisco-based Twitter didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment on the issues. 

The limit for tweets per day is currently set to 2,400, according to Twitter’s Help Center, making it unlikely that most users came anywhere close to their maximum.