Elon Musk on Thursday raised the possibility of Twitter going bankrupt, capping a chaotic day that included a warning from regulators and the departure of executives.
The billionaire told employees on a call that he couldn’t rule out bankruptcy, Bloomberg News reported, two weeks after buying it for $44 billion – a deal that credit experts say put Twitter’s finances in a precarious position has brought.
The All Hands meeting was called with just an hour’s notice, and Musk said he was 15 minutes late platformer.
Musk, who has made ending working from home a key pillar of his Twitter purchase, reportedly told employees, “If you physically make it to an office and don’t show up, the termination will be accepted.”
Two other executives – Yoel Roth and Robin Wheeler – have resigned even after hosting a Twitter Spaces chat with Musk on Wednesday as he tried to allay advertisers’ concerns. Roth and Wheeler did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Earlier Thursday, Twitter’s Chief Security Officer Lea Kissner tweeted that she had quit.
In addition, the company’s shares appear to have been delisted for the time being.
Elon Musk on Thursday raised the possibility of Twitter going bankrupt, capping a chaotic day that included a warning from regulators and the departure of executives
The billionaire told employees on a call that he couldn’t rule out bankruptcy, Bloomberg News reported, two weeks after buying it for $44 billion – a deal that credit experts say has put Twitter’s finances in a precarious position brought
Chief Privacy Officer Damien Kieran and Chief Compliance Officer Marianne Fogarty also resigned, according to an internal message posted to Twitter’s Slack messaging system by a lawyer for the privacy team on Thursday and viewed by Portal.
A lawyer working for Twitter warned that the social network could face billions of dollars in fines for potential violations of the consent decree it is under — as a result of Elon Musk’s rapid changes affecting user privacy.
The note, which was posted to the company’s Slack and was available for all employees to view, goes on to say that its author “heard Alex Spiro (the current General Counsel) say that Elon is willing to take a tremendous risk with this company and.” their users, because “Elon puts rockets into space, he’s not afraid of the FTC.”
Since taking the helm of the company, Musk has laid off nearly half his workforce, ended remote work for the remaining employees, said there was “no way to whitewash the company’s economic prospects,” and has been working on changes to its verification system back and forth and twitter blues.
In his first meeting with all employees at Twitter Thursday afternoon, Musk warned that the company could lose billions of dollars over the next year, the information reported.
Yoel Roth, Twitter’s head of safety & integrity, reportedly resigned just a day after a Twitter Spaces conversation with Musk
Twitter Client Solutions leader Robin Wheeler has also reportedly tendered her resignation
Twitter did not respond to requests for comment about a possible bankruptcy, the FTC warning, or the departures.
Wheeler was the face of Twitter after Musk took over. Roth, who led security and integrity at Twitter, said Twitter has reduced the display of malicious content in search results by 95 percent compared to before Musk acquired it.
Musk has owed Twitter $13 billion in debt, on which it will have to pay nearly $1.2 billion in interest over the next 12 months.
The payments exceed Twitter’s most recently reported cash flow, which totaled $1.1 billion at the end of June.
Musk has ended remote work for Twitter employees – urging the company to prepare for “the difficult times ahead” in his first email to employees since taking over as CEO.
A lawyer working for Twitter warns that the social network could face billions of dollars in fines for potential violations of the consent decree it’s under — as a result of Elon Musk’s rapid changes affecting user privacy
“Elon has shown that his only priority with Twitter users is to monetize them. I don’t think he cares about the human rights activists. the dissidents, our users in non-monetizable regions and all other users who have made Twitter the global marketplace that you all have taken so long to build and that we all love,” the attorney wrote in the message, which was obtained by The Rand
Since taking the helm of the company, Musk had laid off almost half of his workforce, ended remote work for the remaining employees, said there was “no way to whitewash the company’s economic prospects” and was in favor of changes to its verification system and fro gone and twitter blues
The email, sent last night, said there was “no way to sugarcoat the economic outlook”.
According to Bloomberg, he said the poor outlook will hit an advertising-dependent company like Twitter.
He also announced in the email that he bans working from home and expects employees to be in the office at least 40 hours a week.
The hours are subject to terms approved by him as Twitter’s new boss.
He said: “The road ahead is arduous and will require intense work to succeed.”
According to Bloomberg, Musk (pictured at Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters) said it would affect an advertising-dependent company like Twitter
He also banned remote work and expected employees to work in the office at least 40 hours a week. Pictured: Musk on Twitter
The email is the latest announcement amid a series of changes under his leadership at Twitter. He tweeted last night: “Please note Twitter will be doing a lot of stupid things in the coming months. We will keep what works and change what doesn’t work.
The policies mentioned in last night’s email are effective immediately.
It’s his latest warning to his new hires, just days after he laid off nearly half of the company’s global workforce of about 7,500.
Musk last week announced plans to cut half his workforce, vowed to stop fake accounts, and charges $8 a month for the Twitter Blue service, which will include Blue Check verification.
Twitter did not respond to a request for comment on the attorney’s tip or the departures. Spiro did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Twitter acquisition has raised concerns that Musk, who has often meddled in political debates, could face pressure from countries trying to control online speech.
That prompted US President Joe Biden to say on Wednesday that Musk’s “cooperation and/or technical ties with other countries are worth reviewing.”
Musk told advertisers on Twitter’s Spaces feature on Wednesday that he aims to transform the platform into a force for truth and stop fake accounts.
His assurances may not be enough.
Chipotle Mexican Grill said Thursday it had withdrawn its paid and owned content on Twitter “as we gain a better understanding of the platform’s direction under its new leadership.”
It joined other brands, including General Motors, which have paused advertising on Twitter since Musk acquired it over concerns he will relax rules on content moderation.
TIMELINE OF ELON MUSK’S CHAOT ATTEMPT TO TAKEOVER TWITTER
April 2: Musk announces that he owns 9.2 percent of the company, making it the largest single shareholder
April 14: Musk offers to take Twitter private for $54.20 per share, valuing the company at $44 billion
April 25: Twitter accepts offer from Musk
April 29: Musk sells $8 billion worth of Tesla stock to fund the deal
May 13: According to Musk, the Twitter deal is on hold pending verification of the bot accounts
May 26: Musk is sued by Twitter for stock manipulation during the takeover
July 8: Musk says he’s backing out of the deal. Twitter is suing and trying to force him to go through with it.
October 4: Musk again proposes going ahead with the deal at the original price
October 17: Proposed trial date in Delaware
Oct. 26: Musk visits Twitter HQ with a sink, updates his bio on the site to “Chief Twit,” and updates his location to Twitter HQ
October 27: Musk’s $44 billion takeover of Twitter finally closes
Oct. 28: Musk fires top Twitter officials, including CEO Parag Agrawal, CFO Ned Segal, and top attorney Vijaya Gadde, the woman responsible for banning President Trump after the Jan. 6 riots last year.
October 30: Twitter employees are instructed by Musk to make verified accounts a feature exclusive to Twitter Blue, the platform’s paid subscription service
October 31: Musk confirms he is Twitter’s new CEO and dissolves the board