Elon Musk met directly with employees on Twitter on Thursday for the first time since reaching a deal to acquire the company in April, focusing on “freedom of speech” online.
The billionaire moved to buy Twitter for $ 44 billion in April, but has since criticized the company, threatening to postpone the deal due to concerns about bots or fake accounts that exist in the app.
“Trust is like trust. I tend to be extremely literal in what I say … One should not read between the lines. One can just read the lines, “Musk said during the meeting, according to a tweet from Nola Weinstein, the global leader of the brand’s experience and commitment on Twitter. Weinstein subsequently deleted all his tweets for the meeting and did not respond to a request for comment from the Associated Press.
During the conversation, Musk set high goals for Twitter, saying he hoped it would be used by 1 billion people worldwide, according to the New York Times. This figure is almost four times more than the current user base.
“I want Twitter to contribute to a better, long-lasting civilization where we better understand the nature of reality,” he told the Times, adding that he hoped Twitter would help us better understand the nature of the universe. it is possible to understand. “
He also turned to Twitter’s policy of working from home, after once calling for the company’s headquarters to be turned into a “homeless shelter” because, he said, so few employees actually work there. The comment also served as a weakly veiled blow to San Francisco, which has a large homeless population.
Musk didn’t do much to allay fears of Twitter layoffs, declining to answer questions directly about potential restructuring and saying “costs outweigh revenue right now – that’s not a good situation,” according to the Times.
The billionaire businessman had previously caused a stir when he said he wanted to “check all the people” on the service. At the meeting, he clarified that this does not mean that he wants everyone on Twitter to use their real names, as on Facebook, as pseudonyms can allow people to freely express their political views, according to the New York Times.
Twitter’s chief executive, Parag Agraval, announced a joint meeting with employees in an email Monday, saying they would be able to send questions to Musk in advance, according to The Wall Street Journal. Such a move is rare in the case of a purchase that is not yet complete, said Harry Kramer, a former CEO of Baxter International and a professor at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.
“In my experience, it is very unusual and almost strange for someone who has not bought the company to talk to current employees of the company they want to buy,” he said, adding that the deal “is not a guarantee until it is completed.”
Musk has drawn much criticism of the company in recent months, from its moderation and security policies, which he called a threat to “freedom of speech,” to its anonymous user accounts, which he would like to eliminate, to Donald Trump’s ban. promised to cancel.
“We need to allow people to say what they want,” he said in a conversation Thursday.
Such actions have led many officials to fear the impending takeover of the hostile billionaire, with some quarters citing inquiries at Thursday’s meeting. “When you take ownership of this company, do you intend to continue to make factually false claims about Twitter’s products and operations and publicly belittle its employees?” A man asked, according to the New York Times.
If the story is a guide, Musk could consider moving the company to Texas, as he did with Tesla’s headquarters in December. An impeccable fan of cryptocurrency, he offers ideas for accepting the cryptocurrency dogecoin as a payment for premium accounts. Musk also once led Tesla to buy $ 1.5 billion in bitcoins and briefly allowed buyers to pay for their cars using cryptocurrency.
It is unclear whether this week’s meeting means the two countries have come together to resolve their issues. Shares of Twitter traded well below $ 54.20 per share, which Musk agreed to pay amid doubts on Wall Street that the deal would be completed. Shares of Twitter rose 1% on Thursday after the call.
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