Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur and CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, made headlines last year when he purchased Twitter, one of the largest social media platforms in the world.
The move was met with mixed reactions, with some applauding Musk for his boldness and innovation, while others expressed concerns about his lack of experience in the social media industry.
Since his takeover, Musk has made several changes to the way Twitter is run, including downsizing the workforce from 8,500 to just 1,500 employees. He argued that Twitter was overstaffed and could function with fewer people if it wasn’t trying to act as an activist organisation and didn’t care as much about censorship.
In an interview with Fox News, Musk explained that he believed Twitter was not a non-profit organisation and, as such, could not function like one. He stated that the company needed to focus on creating new products and improving the user experience, rather than hiring an excessive number of employees.
Musk also revealed that many employees had left voluntarily rather than being laid off, citing his ‘hardcore’ work culture involving endless hours of duty as a factor. He said that employees in top and mid-senior roles refused to conform to this culture, leading to their departure.
Despite these changes, Musk’s leadership of Twitter has not been without its challenges. The company’s revenue and adjusted earnings fell by about 40% year over year in December 2022, leading to concerns about the long-term sustainability of the platform. Musk has since stated that the company lost some advertisers after his takeover, but he remains committed to making Twitter a platform for free speech and fairness.
To this end, Musk has reintroduced Twitter Blue subscription, which offers users several features, including automatic verification and access to exclusive content. However, he is still struggling to increase the company’s revenue and attract more advertisers, highlighting the challenges of running a social media platform in an increasingly competitive market.