Elon Musk’s rate limits on Twitter send Bluesky’s traffic to record high
Twitter CEO Elon Musk has introduced rate limits on the number of tweets users can view in response to “extreme levels” of data scraping and system manipulation. Musk cited the degradation of the user experience as the reason behind the decision. Initially, verified accounts were limited to 6,000 posts per day, while unverified accounts were limited to 600 posts per day. These limits gradually increased to 10,000 for verified users and 1,000 for unverified users. When users reached their limit, they received error messages, such as “Rate limit exceeded” or “Unable to load tweets,” which prevented fresh content from populating their feeds.
The introduction of rate limits sparked frustration among Twitter users, leading many to flock to Bluesky, a social media platform in its invite-only beta testing phase. Bluesky, which is supported by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, experienced a surge in traffic as a result. However, the influx of visitors caused some degraded performance, prompting Bluesky to temporarily pause sign-ups to address the issues. Sign-ups were later resumed. As of April, Bluesky reported having over 50,000 users.
Bluesky has a waitlist for users requesting sign-ups and occasionally distributes invitations to existing users to invite other participants. Users who invite high-quality participants are awarded with more invites. The excessive data scraping on Twitter, according to Musk, is primarily driven by artificial intelligence companies seeking data to train their models.
Musk expressed his frustration with the situation, stating, “Almost every company doing AI, from startups to some of the biggest corporations on Earth, was scraping vast amounts of data. It is rather galling to have to bring large numbers of servers online on an emergency basis just to facilitate some AI startup’s outrageous valuation.”
Twitter did not provide a comment on the matter, responding instead with an automated message containing a poop emoji. Bluesky has not yet responded to requests for comment.
FAQs:
Q: Why did Elon Musk introduce rate limits on Twitter?
A: Elon Musk introduced rate limits on the number of tweets users can view due to “extreme levels” of data scraping and system manipulation. These activities were degrading the user experience on the platform.
Q: What were the initial rate limits imposed by Musk?
A: Initially, verified accounts were limited to 6,000 posts per day, while unverified accounts were limited to 600 posts per day.
Q: What happened when users reached their rate limits?
A: When users reached their limits, they received error messages stating “Rate limit exceeded” or “Unable to load tweets,” preventing fresh content from appearing on their feeds.
Q: Why did Twitter users flock to Bluesky?
A: Frustrated by the rate limits imposed on Twitter, many users turned to Bluesky, a social media platform in its invite-only beta testing phase. Bluesky is supported by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey.
Q: How did Bluesky respond to the surge in traffic?
A: The increased traffic caused some performance degradation on Bluesky. As a result, the platform temporarily paused sign-ups to address these issues but later resumed them.
Q: How many users does Bluesky currently have?
A: As of April, Bluesky reported having over 50,000 users.
Q: How does Bluesky distribute invitations for sign-ups?
A: Bluesky has a waitlist for users requesting sign-ups and occasionally distributes invitations to existing users to invite others. The platform rewards users who invite high-quality participants with more invites.
Q: What did Musk attribute the excessive data scraping on Twitter to?
A: Musk attributed the excessive data scraping on Twitter to artificial intelligence companies seeking data for training their models.
Q: What was Twitter’s response to a request for comment?
A: Twitter responded to a request for comment with an automated message containing a poop emoji, as Musk no longer has a communications team.

Elon Musk’s Twitter Usage Causes Record High Traffic for Bluesky
Twitter CEO Elon Musk announced on Saturday that rate limits would be imposed on the number of tweets users could view, causing a surge in traffic at rival social media platform Bluesky. Musk explained that the rate limits were necessary due to the “extreme levels” of data scraping and system manipulation that Twitter had been experiencing, resulting in a degraded user experience. The limits started at 6,000 posts per day for verified accounts and 600 posts per day for unverified accounts, gradually increasing to 10,000 for verified users and 1,000 for unverified users.
When users reached their limits, they were met with error messages such as “Rate limit exceeded” or “Unable to load tweets,” as tweets failed to populate their feeds. Frustrated by these limitations, Twitter users turned to Bluesky, a social media company backed by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, that was still in an invite-only beta testing phase. Musk’s new rule prompted an increase in visitors to Bluesky, causing a temporary pause in sign-ups to address the resulting performance issues.
Bluesky’s website reported having over 50,000 users by the end of April. The platform employs a system where existing users can invite others to join, with certain users receiving more invites based on the quality of their invitees. As for the cause of the excessive data scraping on Twitter, Musk pointed to artificial intelligence companies using the data to train their models, stating that it was taxing on Twitter’s infrastructure.
When asked for a comment, Twitter responded with an automated message featuring a poop emoji, as Musk no longer has a communications team. Bluesky did not immediately provide a comment on the matter.