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☆ A former Twitter engineer says Elon Musk wrongly fired him for leaking information to the press
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-14 | by ( Polly Thompson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewA former engineer at Twitter, now X, says that he was wrongfully fired from his job after being accused of leaking information to the press. Speaking to Zoë Schiffer in her newly released book, "Extremely Hardcore," Lin said that someone lied about him leaking information to the press. So when Elon Musk took over Twitter in October 2022, the engineer was on board. AdvertisementWorkers install lighting on an "X" sign atop the downtown San Francisco building that housed what was formally known as Twitter, rebranded X by owner Elon Musk. Lin still insists that he had no involvement in leaking information, Schiffer writes in the book.

Persons: —, Randall Lin, Zoë Schiffer, Lin, Schiffer, Jack Dorsey, Elon Musk, Noah Berger, I've, Zoë, James Musk, Elon Musk's, Elon Organizations: Service, Twitter, Elon, Business, Twitter's San, Workers Locations: Twitter's, Twitter's San Francisco, San Francisco

☆ Elon Musk's cousin was once found 'basically sobbing' in Twitter HQ over fears he'd be fired, author says
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-23 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

An ex-Twitter exec once found Elon Musk's cousin James Musk "basically sobbing," Ben Mezrich said. The author of "Breaking Twitter" said James Musk had been worried about being fired. James Musk was brought into Twitter after Elon Musk paid $44 billion for the company. Representatives for James Musk and Elon Musk did not respond to requests for comment. Citing unique access to Twitter employees and Musk's confidants, "Breaking Twitter" documents Musk's difficulties since buying the company.

Persons: Elon Musk's, James Musk, Ben Mezrich, Elon Musk, —, Elon, Mezrich, Andrew Musk, Tesla, Musk's, Musk Organizations: Twitter, Elon, Service, Facebook, Social Network Locations: Twitter's San Francisco

Musk has dismantled core features of what made Twitter, Twitter — its name and blue bird logo, its verification system, its Trust and Safety advisory group. “We’re still negative cash flow," he posted on the site on July 14, due to a about a "50% drop in advertising revenue plus heavy debt load." Insider Intelligence estimates that X will bring in $1.89 billion in advertising revenue this year, down 54% from 2022. “Even though the cultural relevance of Twitter was already starting to decline," before Musk took it over, "it’s as if the platform no longer exists. Usually when a social platform, starts to lose its relevance there are at least some external factors at play, but that’s not the case here.”

Persons: Elon Musk, it's, hasn’t, Jasmine Enberg, Musk, ” Enberg, —, Ian Bremmer, “, algorithmically, ” It's, We’re, ”, Linda Yaccarino, it’s, that’s Organizations: FRANCISCO, —, Twitter's San, Twitter, Media Matters, European Commission, NBC, Facebook, Meta, Google, ., Intelligence Locations: Twitter's, Twitter's San Francisco, Maine, Israel

☆ Elon Musk just put a huge X logo on Twitter's San Francisco HQ – and may have broken some rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-29 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Elon Musk had a huge X logo put on the roof of its San Francisco headquarters on Friday. It comes after Musk ordered the Twitter sign to be removed from the building on Monday. Elon Musk had a huge "X" logo put on the roof of its headquarters in San Francisco Friday as part of his overhaul of the company formerly known as Twitter. The X sign lights up at night. The Notice of Violation said the "@" symbol on the Twitter sign was "dangling" and could cause harm to pedestrians if it fell.

Persons: Elon Musk, Musk, Patrick Hanna, Noah Berger Organizations: San Francisco, San Francisco Friday, Twitter, Associated Press, Department of, Inspection, Monday, San Francisco Police Department, Apple Locations: San Francisco

☆ The former Twitter exec who went viral for sleeping on the office floor said she had no choice but to do so because of Elon Musk's 'nearly impossible deadline'
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Esther Crawford said she slept at Twitter's office because Elon Musk gave her a "nearly impossible deadline." The ex-Twitter exec went viral for sleeping on the floor in the office shortly after Musk took over. Former Twitter exec Esther Crawford said she slept on the office floor because Elon Musk gave her a "nearly impossible deadline." Musk himself is no stranger to sleeping in the office, and some other Twitter workers did the same as they scrambled to keep their jobs. Working at Twitter after the acquisition "was like playing life at Level 10 on Hard Mode," Crawford said in Wednesday's post.

Persons: Esther Crawford, Elon Musk, Musk, bootlicker, Crawford, Tweet Organizations: Elon, Twitter, Morning, Twitter's San Locations: Twitter's, Twitter's San Francisco, Wednesday's

☆ Twitter users are joking that they're embarrassed by Elon Musk's new 'X' logo, saying it looks like it belongs on a porn site
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Twitter users are not so pleased about Twitter's new logo "X" because it looks like a porn website. Comedy writer Jesse McLaren dissed the new logo in a tweet posting an image of various websites with the "X" logo and wrote: "These are all porn except one. I didn't know about your rebrand idea and was looking for Twitter Verified, and scrolled right past your X logo, thinking it was a porn site. Users have even drawn comparisons with the logo of adult streaming site XVideos, which has been trending on Twitter since Sunday. Police halted workers in the middle of removing the "Twitter" sign from its San Francisco headquarters, leaving behind only the letters "er" at present.

Persons: Elon Musk, Musk, Jesse McLaren dissed, it's, Parker Lyon Organizations: Twitter, Users, PayPal, Police, San, Meta Locations: San Francisco

☆ Twitter X logo: Elon Musk rebrands social media platform
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —In a radical rebranding, Twitter owner Elon Musk has replaced Twitter’s iconic bird logo with X.Musk made the shock announcement of his plans early Sunday. “Interim X logo goes live later today,” he wrote, shortly before sharing a photo of Twitter’s headquarters lit up by a giant new X. Increasing the pressure, earlier this month rival social media platform Threads launched from Facebook (FB) parent Meta. Twitter had 238 million active users prior to being taken private by Musk in October 2022. Musk explained his approach to free speech by saying: “Is someone you don’t like allowed to say something you don’t like?

Persons: Elon Musk, Musk, X.com, ”, “ adieu, Mary ”, Twitter's, David Odisho, Linda Yaccarino, Twitter, Mills, Adam Mosseri Organizations: New, New York CNN, Twitter, Facebook, SpaceX, Tesla, Defamation League, Free Press, GLAAD, Meta Locations: New York, Twitter's San Francisco

☆ Elon Musk tried using fear to get Twitter employees back to still 'empty' offices. His new CEO is trying a different approach.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Elon Musk for months has demanded Twitter workers come in five days a week. Elon Musk instituting a "culture of fear" at Twitter has not been enough to get the remaining employees to return to the office consistently. The new CEO is making a concerted effort to try and get people to want to come into the office, the person familiar said. Musk has been in the process of closing and shrinking Twitter offices for months. Prior to Musk's takeover, Twitter had 18 offices in the U.S.Are you a Twitter employee or someone else with insight to share?

Persons: Elon Musk, Linda Yaccarino, Elon, Jack Dorsey, It's, Yaccarino, Twitter's, Musk, Kali Hays Organizations: Twitter, Workers, New, Twitter's San Locations: San Francisco, New York, Twitter's San Francisco, San Francisco , New York, Los Angeles, U.S, khays

☆ Twitter's new CEO Linda Yaccarino has seemingly had one of her tweets framed at the company's HQ, following in Elon Musk's footsteps
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A Twitter employee shared a photo of Linda Yaccarino's tweet framed on the office wall. Linda Yaccarino, the new Twitter CEO, has joined Elon Musk in having one of her tweets framed on the office walls of her new company. And either she or some other Twitter employee must be quite proud of this retort, because it's now been put on display in the headquarters. It looks like it's framed on the same wall where Elon Musk had one of his tweets put on show last November. Although several users had already come up with this joke, even photoshopping fake Musk tweets before the real billionaire posted it himself.

Persons: Linda Yaccarino's, Elon Musk, Linda Yaccarino, Yaccarino, it's, Musk, Twitter Organizations: Twitter, Elon Musk Locations: San Francisco, Twitter's San Francisco

☆ Elon Musk and Twitter face San Francisco city probe over headquarters
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Lora Kolodny | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

In an aerial view, a modified company sign is posted on the exterior of the Twitter headquarters in San Francisco, April 10, 2023. Elon Musk and X Corp. — the Musk-backed parent company of social media platform Twitter — face an investigation over building code violations at Twitter's San Francisco headquarters on Market Street, according to online public records with the county's Department of Building Inspection. In the drive to cut costs, the Musk transition team told employees to simply refuse to pay landlords who were owed rent by the company. When informed of the risks of termination fees for certain leases, Davis told Twitter senior employees, "Well, we just won't pay those. A representative for the Department of Building Inspection in San Francisco did not immediately respond to a request for further information.

☆ An unshaven Elon Musk was clubbing in Mexico hours before meeting French President Emmanuel Macron, and joked that he 'had to sleep in the car'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Aditi Bharade | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk pulled up to his meeting with Emmanuel Macron unshaven after a night of clubbing. He was seen partying in Mexico hours before meeting Macron, and said that he slept "in the car." Macron met with Musk to discuss Tesla's possible investments in France. He also jokingly told Macron that he had to "sleep in the car" prior to their meeting, The Telegraph reported. Representatives of Macron and Musk did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment sent outside regular business hours.

☆ Twitter employees bonuses nixed as fear spreads that Elon Musk's promised stock grants are worthless
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Elon Musk for months has said "excellent" Twitter employees will be rewarded for their efforts. Employees at Twitter are frustrated by Elon Musk's unkept promises. The latest is paid parental leave, which is now just two weeks, down from a previous paid leave policy of 20 weeks. Outside of that leave period, Twitter employees will be able to take unpaid leave up to the amount mandated by state law. In California, where Twitter is still based, workers are legally entitled to 12 weeks of protected, but unpaid, parental leave.

☆ Elon Musk says the 'constant attack' from the media about him being a 'horrible person' has been hurtful, but it's better than no free speech
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Elon Musk told the BBC that reports about him being a "horrible person" have been "hurtful." Musk went on to speak about the importance of free speech and holding power to account. Musk didn't refer to any specific reports, but his management style has come under scrutiny several times. Tuesday's interview also saw Musk clash with the BBC's technology correspondent, James Clayton, in a discussion about free speech and misinformation. But Musk also spoke about having a "love/hate relationship" with the press, speaking to the importance of free speech and holding power to account.

☆ Elon Musk claims the only thing stopping him from turning part of Twitter's San Francisco HQ into a homeless shelter is the building's owner
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk says he wants to turn one of Twitter's San Francisco buildings into a homeless shelter. "We're only using one of the buildings so the other building could be a homeless shelter," Musk said. The building's owners didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment, made outside of regular working hours. When asked for further details about how the homeless shelter would operate, Musk said: "I don't know, we could just let people stay there. Twitter opened its first office in San Francisco in 2006 and the company's HQ has been based there ever since.

☆ Elon Musk says he sometimes sleeps on a couch in the library of Twitter's San Francisco headquarters
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Elon Musk says he has a sleeping spot in Twitter's San Francisco offices. "There's a couch there and I sleep there sometimes," Musk told the BBC. And, uh, there's a couch there, and I sleep there sometimes," Musk told the BBC during a live-streamed interview on Tuesday night. And in December, he turned some office space at the San Francisco headquarters into bedrooms. The topics covered included Twitter's content moderation, the company's mass layoffs, Musk's intention to turn Twitter's San Francisco office into a homeless shelter, and his dog Floki, who he jokingly calls Twitter's CEO.

☆ Elon Musk painted over the 'w' on Twitter's sign at its San Francisco headquarters, changing it to 'Titter'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Aditi Bharade | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk painted over the "w" in Twitter's name on the sign outside its San Francisco headquarters. He said Twitter's landlord told the company that the sign was legally required to read as "Twitter." In a tweet on Sunday, the social media platform's CEO posted a picture of the sign with the "w" painted over in white to blend in with the background. "Elon Musk, in a remarkable show of maturity, has removed the "w" from Twitter's logo outside their San Francisco HQ," LeGate's caption read. Musk has made several drastic changes to the company's San Francisco headquarters since he took over Twitter.

☆ A former Twitter engineer said they watched colleagues 'drop like flies' from a virtual meeting during Elon Musk's mass layoffs
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A former engineer at Twitter said they watched staff "drop like flies" on a Google Meet. Justine De Caires said co-workers realized they were laid off when they couldn't access their laptops. De Caires was laid off while working on implementing Elon Musk's plans for Twitter Blue. "Slowly we realized what was happening and we just got on a Google Meets together and watched everybody drop like flies. De Caires and five other Twitter staff filed a class action lawsuit against Twitter on November 3, alleging breach of contract and violations of the WARN Act, which requires companies to alert workers before layoffs.

☆ Elon Musk is behaving 'like the local drunk,' says a former Twitter executive
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A former Twitter exec told i News that Elon Musk was behaving "like the local drunk." "The more Musk behaves like the local drunk – getting into slanging matches with disabled ex-employees – the less current employees will be proud to say they work there," Daisley told i News. Just a week after taking control of Twitter, Musk laid off around half of its workers. "It's a little bit like the character in the cartoon who runs off the cliff but doesn't fall straight away," Daisley told i News. Under Musk, Twitter has become "a pressure cooker," an employee who still works at the company and who spoke on the condition of anonymity told i News.

☆ She was weeks away from maternity leave at Twitter. Then Elon Musk took over
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

Twitter now reportedly has fewer than 2,000 employees following more cuts late last month, down from around 7,500 before Musk took over. CNN“We were on the Twitter-coaster, the Elon Musk chapter, for seven months,” Ali said. De Caires is one of the former Twitter employees taking legal action against the company following mass layoffs after Musk took over. Jeff Chiu/APInstead, Twitter employees say they heard very little from their new leader in the days immediately after his takeover. Attorney Shannon Liss-Riordan is representing around 1,500 former Twitter employees taking legal action against the company following Musk's takeover.

☆ The boss of Elon Musk's Boring Company called Twitter managers to ask about employee performance just days before 200 people were laid off, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Boring Company's boss called Twitter managers last week to ask about staff performance, Platformer reports. Twitter then cut at least 200 employees on Saturday night, including four high-ranking managers. Davis is a longstanding ally of Twitter owner Elon Musk, and has helped cut costs since his takeover. Steve Davis, a long-term associate of Musk, has been working with Twitter for the past few months to help cut costs at Musk's request. These managers later learned on Saturday that at least 200 employees were being laid off, including product managers, data scientists, and engineers.

☆ Twitter stiffed marketing firm $7,000 for a 'swag gift box' for Elon Musk that included a $689 Japanese whiskey and a branded cheese board, a lawsuit claims
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A branded-merch company claims it's owed $6,784 for a "swag gift box" Twitter ordered for Elon Musk. Canary Marketing says in a lawsuit that Twitter suddenly stopped paying its bills in September. The invoice for Musk's gift box includes a $689 bottle of whiskey and a custom-engraved cheese board. One of the payments Canary claims Twitter owes is the order from late September for a "swag gift box for Elon" worth $6,783.99, to be sent to Twitter's San Francisco headquarters. Twitter and Canary didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment, made outside of normal US working hours.

☆ Elon Musk's mood and intensity at Twitter are 'worse' than during Tesla's existential crisis 5 years ago, staff says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

People who have worked for him at Tesla and now Twitter think recent months have proved worse. There's a new refrain among some Tesla employees who continue to work out of Twitter's San Francisco headquarters: "worse than 2018." Still, there is "zero talk" inside Twitter of a new CEO coming in to replace Musk, this person added. There are some similarities between Musk at Tesla then and him at Twitter now. Musk's overall mood at Twitter seemed to start deteriorating toward the end of last year, two of the people familiar said.

☆ Elon Musk asked engineers to boost his tweets after Joe Biden's Super Bowl post got more engagement than his, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Hannah Getahun | Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Musk asked engineers to find ways to promote his tweets after the Super Bowl, Platformer reported. Musk made the request after President Joe Biden received more engagement for an Eagles tweet. Engineers worked under the threat of being fired to create a system that would boost his tweets. Biden's tweet gained nearly 29 million impressions, while Musk's tweet got over 9 million impressions, Platformer's Zoë Schiffer and Casey Newton reported. Platformer reported Tuesday that the boost factor for Musk's tweets is now lower than 1,000.

☆ Twitter went down because an employee accidentally deleted data, and there was nobody left on the team responsible due to Elon Musk's cuts, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

On Wednesday, Twitter users were faced with the errant warning: "You are over the daily limit for sending tweets." And the team responsible for the service had all left the company in November, per Platformer. In a private message seen by Insider's Kali Hays, one Twitter employee described it as "a massive outage." Since Musk took over the company, employee numbers have fallen more than two-thirds, from over 7,000 to around 2,300, per the billionaire himself. After Wednesday's outage, Musk emailed Twitter staff telling them to "pause new feature development" in order to ensure "system stability and robustness," Fortune first reported.

☆ Twitter's San Francisco headquarters is reportedly filled with makeshift beds and 'the worst coffee vendors on Earth'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Twitter employees at it SF headquarters said the company is a much less attractive place to work, Platform reports. But many employees of the company are not exactly happy with the changes Musk has brought — especially those who work at Twitter's San Francisco headquarters, according to the Platformer newsletter. Breakfast and lunch were once free at the San Francisco headquarters. Added to that, the makeshift bedrooms Musk organized at the San Francisco headquarters are still there, and employees have to reserve them in advance, Platformer reported. The landlord of the company's San Francisco headquarters sued Twitter in January for failing to pay rent for two months.

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