Tesla CEO Elon Musk for the first time since his acquisition of Twitter, had a conversation with the microblogging site’s employees where he discussed key issues among others.
After his acquisition of Twitter for $44 billion, Tesla CEO Elon Musk addressed Twitter employees for the first time in an” apparent effort to assuage concerns” about the deal. In the virtual address, Musk reserved 10 minutes for a casual chat with Twitter employees and took direct questions from them regarding a variety of issues. From aliens to free speech to job cuts, Elon Musk discussed everything in his chat with the employees. However, as per reports, the multi-billionaire did not give an update on update on takeover discussions, which are now facing roadblocks due to issues like spam accounts on the microblogging platform.
Here are the key things Elon Musk discussed with Twitter employees during the chat
Impending Layoffs: In the chat with Twitter employees, Musk highlighted a need for “rationalisation of headcount” at the microblogging platform. “Right now, the costs exceed the revenue. So that’s not a great situation to be in. And so there would have to be some rationalization of headcount and expenses to have revenue be greater than cost,” he was quoted as saying by in a report. However, Musk added, “Anyone who’s… a significant contributor should have nothing to worry about.”
Remote Work: As per a leaked transcript of the meeting accessed by Vox, Musk was asked on his views on remote working. To this, he said that if someone is exceptional at their work, they should be allowed to work from home. “So one of the things I’ve said, even if somebody’s working remotely, they gotta show up at the office occasionally so that they recognize their colleagues and don’t walk down the street and pass your colleagues and you don’t recognize them. That would not be good,” he was quoted as saying.
Advertising Model: In the chat with the employees, Musk said that the advertising model was important to Twitter’s business and reiterated that he was not against it. Ads and subscriptions are two key things that will help boost Twitter’s revenue, he said. “I think advertising is very important for Twitter,” said the Tesla CEO. “I’m not against advertising. I would probably talk to the advertisers and say, like, ‘hey, let’s just make sure the ads are as entertaining as possible.” In the past, Musk had suggested making Twitter ad free.
Free Speech: Elon Musk, who claims to be an advocate for free speech, said people should be allowed to say anything on Twitter that does not violate the law. “We should allow people to say what they want, post what they want, within the bounds of the law.” He said he was in favour of “doing, of going, as far as the law will allow”.
Aliens: In the casual chat, Musk touched upon alien civilisations and other such things, but noted that he as the CEO of SpaceX had not seen any actual evidence of extraterrestrial beings.
