Twitter employees are voicing their concerns after Elon Musk vowed to make ‘significant improvements’ to the social media platform as a company board member and majority shareholder, admitting his investment in the company was not passive.
Following the news of Tesla CEO’s investment of $3billion in the platform’s future, employees began to tweet mockery and grave uneasiness.
“Good morning, our new Overlord!” Lara Cohen is the Global Head of Partners for the company.
Company researcher Matt DeMichiel shared a meme featuring rapper Drake that seemingly implied Musk would move the company’s focus from growth, product innovation and sustainability to ways to further financial success.
“Elon Musk only (temporarily at minimum) made me lots of money. And I still dislike him,’ added Haraldur Thorleifsson, lead of Twitter’s 0→1 team, referencing how Musk’s stake and board membership prompted a surge in the company’s stock value.
The billionaire, who initially filed a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) disclosure document intended for passive shareholders, filed a second form Tuesday indicating that he invested in the platform with the goal to evoke change.
DailyMail.com has obtained a new filing that shows Musk bought Twitter stock beginning January 31st and continuing to buy shares through April 1st.
Employees at Twitter are raising concerns following Elon Musk’s promise to make significant improvements to the platform in his capacity as majority shareholder and board member. He also admitted that he did not invest passively in the company.
Twitter declared Tuesday morning Musk would be a member of its board of directors, until Musk leaves the platform. 2024 Annual shareholder meeting.
Musk, whether he is a shareholder or a board member, will not be allowed to increase his holdings beyond 14.9 per cent during his tenure on the board, and no further than 90 days following, according Tuesday’s SEC filing.
Twitter workers were concerned about the company’s operations and its values, even though Musk seems to be a significant shareholder.
Michael Sayman, 0→1 Product Lead at Twitter, took to the platform to share a meme allegedly depicting the next company board meeting.
It featured Wario sitting at the top table, an antagonist of Nintendo’s Mario games, as part of a group that was attending a meeting. It was captioned “Twitter’s next board meeting”.
DeMichiel shared the Drake meme and also replied to a commenter who asked if Musk was required to be included in all work-related communications.
He replied, “That as well as all other email signatures must link to Tesla’s website.”
Although most responses featured targeted sarcasm, EJ Samson, a member of the platform’s marketing team, issued a more neutral response, questioning Musk’s role at the company.
Retweeting a poll the SpaceX CEO had posted asking if users wanted an edit button, Samson replied, via meme: ‘What is happening?’
Lara Cohen, the company’s Global Head of Partners, compared Musk to a feudal lord
Matt DeMichiel, a company researcher shared an image featuring Drake which implied that Musk would shift the company’s attention from product innovation and growth to financial success.
DeMichiel responded also to a commenter, asking whether Musk should be mentioned in work-related communications.
Haraldur Thorleifsson, lead of Twitter’s 0→1 team, referenced how Musk’s stake and board membership prompted a surge in the company’s stock value
Michael Sayman, 0→1 Product Lead at Twitter, compared Musk to Wario, the antagonist in Nintendo’s Mario series
EJ Samson (a member of the marketing team for the platform) seemed to question Musk’s place at the company.
Substack ridiculed employees as they expressed concerns. They said that while Substack was hiring employees, Twitter should not be considered for employment.
‘If you’re a Twitter employee who’s considering resigning because you’re worried about Elon Musk pushing for less regulated speech… please do not come work here,’ Lulu Cheng Meservey, the Vice President of Communications at Substack, tweeted on Tuesday.
“But, for everyone else, we truly are hiring!” You will be part of a team that is talented, motivated, passionate and inclusive, regardless of your beliefs. “We listen to writers and other podcasters, debate with respect, do the right thing, and then execute it maniacally. Independent publishing is alive and well.
Social media users were critical of her comments, claiming she was unprofessional and acting in a manner that is political discrimination, unfair, or hostile.
One user even wrote: ‘Congratulations on helping me to the decision that I’ll never write at Substack or subscribe to any writers there.’
Meservey, alleging ‘context collapse has now happened’ after her remarks were slammed, likely made her comments in response to Tuesday’s backlash from progressive users who feared Musk, a known critic of Twitter’s apparent censorship policies, would ruin the platform.
This will not bring you any good. Hoping entrepreneurs are dreaming up new alternatives to Twitter and Facebook,’ Amy Siskind, activist, author and president of The New Agenda, told Fox News after Tuesday’s board member announcement.
Tim O’Brien, a political analyst, said that free speech advocates should worry about the newfound power of the entrepreneur at the company.
Musk characterized himself as a freedom-of-expression purist but bullies his critics.
Substack, a subscription newsletter platform, taunted workers as they voiced concerns. It said that even though their outlet was recruiting, employees of Twitter should not apply.
Lulu Cheng Meservey was Substack’s Vice President of Communications. She spoke out about Substack’s commitment to independent publishing after she told Twitter users that they were not welcome to work on the platform.
Meservey claimed her comments were not contextualized after she was met with criticisms. She likely made her comments in response to Tuesday’s backlash from progressive users who feared Musk, a known critic of Twitter’s apparent censorship policies, would ruin the platform
One user accused Meservey of political discrimination
Meservey was criticized by another person for making the comment and later claiming that it had been misunderstood.
Most users dismissed Meservey’s claim that ‘context collapse has now happened’
One user stated that they had read Meservey’s comments and decided not to subscribe to Substack.
Meservey received a lot of criticism after her comments about Twitter employees joining Substack staff
Podcast host Sawyer Hackett, who also served as the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development during the Obama Administration, slammed Musk as a hypocritical fraudster who allegedly evaded taxes.
The newest member on Twitter’s board was called “Senator Karen” by Hackett. Hackett suggested Senator Karen that the man who is the most wealthy in the world should pay income taxes. He paid $0 last year in income taxes.
Others, including MSNBC host Joy Reid, raised concern that Musk would demand the company to reinstate former President Donald Trump’s account, which was permanently suspended last year following the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
“So, if this platform is able to bring Trump and his white nationalist friends Q-anon, anti-vaxxers, and Q-anon back, then it will be no different than failing side-apps such as Gab (still one the most hilarious and unintentionally funny brand names ever), and how many of you’ll remain here? Reid said. ‘If they let the hive back in, they’ll have about the same sized audience as those failed “new Twitters,” and the path will be wide open for a smart developer out there. Just sayin… Twitter can be unpleasant enough without the disinformation and nazi bros.’
The social media giant entered into an agreement with Musk on Monday that will give the billionaire a seat on its board, a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) report obtained by DailyMail.com revealed.
After submitting the regulatory filing on Tuesday, Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal announced Musk’s board membership on the social media, alleging the billionaire brings ‘great value’ to the company.
“I am excited to announce that @elonmusk has been appointed to our Board!” Agrawal said that Elon had been in contact with him over the past weeks and it was clear that he would be a great asset to our Board.
He’s both a strong believer as well as a fierce critic of the service, exactly what @Twitter needs. Welcome Elon!’
Musk responded to the CEO, saying: ‘Looking forward to working with Parag & Twitter board to make significant improvements to Twitter in coming months!’
Musk is a Board member as well as the largest shareholder of Twitter, which gives him a significant voice in shaping the future. The CEO has publicly thanked him and the other members of his board, which is a clear indication that Twitter’s leadership will take Musk’s ideas seriously.
However, he is still one of twelve members that Twitter describes as having ‘an important advisory role and feedback role’. But no direct responsibility for the day to-to-day operations. Musk will not be able to create an “edit button” or restore Donald Trump’s account.
Adrian Zamora, spokesperson for Twitter, said that “our policy decisions were not made by the board of directors or shareholders” and that there are no plans to change any policies.
A disclosure form was initially filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which is intended to be used for passive shareholders. The second form filed Tuesday indicated that the billionaire had invested in Twitter (pictured at San Francisco’s headquarters) and aimed to inspire change.
The Twitter stock market has risen since Musk’s purchase of his stake mid-March.
Millions of investors flock to Twitter stock stock following Musk’s disclosure that he has a 9.2% stake. This made it the U.S. most-purchased stock for retail investors Monday. This stock and its ETFs were the most inflowing stocks on U.S. exchanges Monday. It received $152million.
Musk is a favorite investor who has stayed loyal to Tesla Inc over the last ten years, while Tesla Inc struggled to improve production and make electric cars affordable.
Tesla, with its market capitalization exceeding $1 trillion, is one of the most important companies in the world.
Musk is behind many ventures, including rocket maker SpaceX. Forbes rates him the richest man in the world with $290 billion.
According to people familiar, Musk’s popularity among retail investors was one of many reasons Twitter granted him a spot on its Board of Directors this week.
Musk and Twitter didn’t respond to our requests for comment.
The company is trying to increase its revenue through subscriptions and make advertising more profitable, which has led to Twitter’s shares falling behind their peers. The stock sank 38 percent in the 12 months to April 1, before Musk unveiled his stake, versus a 13 percent rise in the S&P 500 Index.
According to Vanda Research, 9.9 percent is made up of retail investors. This is far higher than Tesla where retail investors make up 1.5 percent. However, it is still lower than AMC (the most famous meme stock), where 40.9 percent of the investors base is made up of retail investors.
Justin Post from Bank of America Securities stated this week that Musk’s popularity on social media means we anticipate the news will generate significant retail investor interest in and activity for the stock. The hype can also draw investors who are interested in shorting stocks, however, Post cautioned.