Even for Elon Musk, it may be a bit too much.
The CEO of Tesla (TSLA) finds himself in an unprecedented situation since he acquired the social network Twitter on October 27 for $44 billion.
Tesla was on the brink of bankruptcy in 2018-2019 when the premium electric vehicle maker ramped up production rates for the entry-level Model 3 vehicle, but it didn't experience a talent drain. Musk faced everyone's doubts but managed to prove his critics wrong.
With Twitter it's different. The platform is considered a kind of public good or collective good. The odds are accordingly against Musk, who is seen as a toy billionaire. They are therefore numerous to wish its failure
With Twitter it's different. The platform is considered a collective asset. The odds are accordingly against Musk, whose takeover of Twitter is seen as a billionaire giving himself a toy. So there are a lot of people wishing his failure.
The way things are going, the tech tycoon risks proving his detractors right.
The Difficulties Are Piling Up
When the ultimatum given by their new boss expired on November 17, more than a thousand employees decided to leave the company. In an email sent to the platform's 3,700 employees on November 16, Musk asked them to choose between working long hours to help revamp Twitter 2.0 or leaving the company with three months of severance pay.
"Going forward, to build a breakthrough Twitter 2.0 and succeed in an increasingly competitive world, we will need to be extremely hardcore. This will mean working long hours at high intensity. Only exceptional performance will constitute a passing grade," the billionaire wrote.
"If you are sure that you want to be part of the new Twitter, please click yes on the link below," he continued. "Anyone who has not done so by 5pm ET tomorrow (Thursday) will receive three months of severance."
But while Musk had hoped the number of employees choosing to leave would be manageable, he found himself with a significant surge, which may pose risks to Twitter's business and the entire platform. All of this caused confusion because the company no longer knew who was going to have access to the premises and its assets.
As a result, Musk has decided to close its offices until Monday, November 21.
"Effective immediately, we are temporarily closing our office buildings and all badge access will be suspended," the company wrote in a memo sent to employees. "Offices will reopen on Monday, November 21st."
"Thank you for your flexibility. Please continue to comply with company policy by refraining from discussing confidential company information on social media, with the press or elsewhere. We look forward to working with you on Twitter’s exciting future."
The billionaire's detractors were quick to mock him because he had already cut half the workforce, or 3,700 people, a few days ago. With these additional departures, there aren't many people left at a time when the firm is facing several challenges. For example, Twitter needs to find new sources of revenue. However, many advertisers are currently pausing their ads because they want the direction he is giving to his content management policy.
'We Can Keep Twitter Alive'
The hashtag #RipTwitter was thus trending on the social network. Many users seem convinced that the platform will struggle to survive due to a bleeding of talent.
The question is whether on November 21 there will be enough people to run the business. And how will morale be in view of the latest events?
But Musk likes one-on-one situations. He likes when his back is against the wall. This is the opportunity for him to work the Musk magic
"Don’t wanna jinx it, but there’s a chance we can keep Twitter alive …" the techno king told his detractors on November.
He went so far as to taunt them by posting a fake photo of the funeral on Twitter.
After Musk took the company private last month, he immediately fired the CEO, the CFO, and other high level executives. He also fired half of its staff by sending emails or revoking privileges from Slack or their laptops while contractors were laid off this week also without any notice.
His latest efforts to slash costs at the company have been widely publicized since he fired engineers who had long tenures at Twitter due to their disagreements with him either on the site or in the company's Slack channels, a messaging service used by employees.
His brash leadership style has also led to hasty decisions such as adding and pausing Twitter Blue, an $7.99 a month service for users to receive the once hailed blue check mark. But after many public companies such as pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly (LLY) - Get Free Report were impersonated and lost millions of dollars in market capitalization overnight, several ad and media buying agencies told their clients to stop advertising on the microblogging website.
Musk said on November 15 that a revamped Twitter Blue will be launched on Nov. 29.
