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☆ Twitter’s cybersecurity chief quits amid company turmoil
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

“I’ve made the hard decision to leave Twitter,” Kissner tweeted. Their resignation was the latest example of the internal turmoil that has rocked Twitter following mass layoffs at the company. It could even put Twitter’s own employees in legal jeopardy, the message suggested, after the employee claimed Musk was unconcerned about Twitter’s potential liability before the FTC. The message outlined plans at Twitter to devolve FTC compliance responsibilities to the individual workers remaining at the company. “This will put huge amount of personal, professional and legal risk onto engineers,” the message warned, according to The Verge.

☆ An early Twitter investor says Elon Musk is 'straight-up alone' and 'winging' his rapid changes to the social media giant
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Sacca, an early Twitter investor, referred to Musk's approach to Twitter as "move fast and alone." Speaking about Musk, Sacca said: "I've recently watched those around him become increasingly sycophantic and opportunistic. Sacca said that Twitter would only succeed if Musk added some "desperately needed nuance." Sacca, who was once one of Twitter's biggest shareholders, has been an outspoken critic of the company over the years. He joked on Monday that he was worried he'd get kicked off the platform for posting the thread about Musk.

Elon Musk seems determined to remake Twitter in his own image — with some help from the men in his trusted inner circle. They are joined in Musk’s orbit by Alex Spiro, a trial attorney with a roster of celebrity clients who reportedly led the first round of Twitter layoffs. Bloomberg reported Wednesday night that Twitter is preparing to eliminate about 3,700 jobs, or roughly half its workforce. Musk's personnel decisions suggest a possible road map for the future of Twitter, one in which policies and internal rules are drawn at least in part from the views of Musk’s consiglieres. Sacks, Calacanis, Spiro and Birchall did not immediately respond to questions about the company’s future and the nature of their roles there.

☆ Elon Musk's Twitter has identified thousands of employees who will be laid off, representing about 50% of the company's workforce
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The company has a list of thousands of employees who will be let go. Musk bought Twitter last week for $44 billion. Stack ranking of workers, a type of performance review, has been going on since shortly after Musk formally acquired Twitter last week, as Insider reported. Those lists were then sent to Musk and his transition team, including his personal lawyer Alex Spiro, as Insider reported. Contact Kali Hays at khays@insider.com, on secure messaging app Signal at 949-280-0267, or through Twitter DM at @hayskali.

☆ Some Twitter workers are calling Elon Musk's advisers 'Elon's goons,' a report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk has been outlining plans to overhaul Twitter, assisted by his inner circle. Some Twitter workers have been calling his advisers "Elon's goons," the New York Times reported. Musk's plans include overhauling Twitter's verification process and potentially rebooting Vine. Current and former Twitter workers have been sending each other private messages in the midst of mounting uncertainty at the company, with some staff calling Musk's advisors "Elon's goons," The New York Times reported. Many Twitter staff are concerned about their job security and are scrambling to complete tasks assigned by Musk's team so they can keep hold of their jobs.

☆ Twitter to lay off 25% of workforce in first round of job cuts - Washington Post
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Celebrity lawyer Alex Spiro, a long-time Musk legal representative, led the conversations about the job cuts, according to the report. Twitter had over 7,000 employees at the end of 2021, according to a regulatory filing and a quarter of the headcount amounts to nearly 2,000 employees. Musk denied a New York Times report about laying off Twitter employees at a date earlier than Nov. 1 to avoid stock grants due on the day. Musk fired Twitter Chief Executive Parag Agrawal, Finance Chief Ned Segal and Legal Affairs and Policy Chief Vijaya Gadde on completion of a six-month $44 billion buyout saga of the social media platform on Thursday, sources told Reuters. Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak DasguptaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Elon Musk denied reports that he's speeding up Twitter layoffs to avoid paying out hefty stock grants to workers
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk said reports he's speeding up layoffs to avoid paying out stock grants are false. Musk is set to lay off workers before Tuesday, when they're scheduled to receive stock grants, per the NYT. Media reports suggest that Musk may also avoid giving fired execs their expected multi-million-dollar payouts. The Times reported that Musk could therefore avoid paying the grants. The Information reported that the "for cause" terminations were an attempt to avoid paying out severance pay and unvested stock awards.

☆ Elon Musk spent the weekend creating plans with his inner circle to lay off 25% of Twitter's staff, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Elon Musk plans to lay off around a quarter of Twitter's staff, The Washington Post reported. His team, led by Alex Spiro, and remaining Twitter senior execs spent the weekend crafting plans, per The Post. Musk's team also assigned some of Twitter's engineers projects to work on over the weekend. Insider reported that there was a sense among workers that some of their recent tasks were a test by Musk's team to see who works hard. A person familiar with the deal told The Post that Musk is more likely to lay off around half of Twitter's staff.

☆ Twitter's Hunger Games: Elon Musk oversees a weekend of coding sprints, stack ranking, and boot-licking as some employees fight to keep their jobs.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-30 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Several Musk allies have been added to a company directory, with Musk being named CEO internally. Elon Musk put Twitter employees to the test this weekend to see who is capable, and willing, of surviving under his new reign. Musk has a 16 year old son, Saxon James Musk, whom he frequently mentions on Twitter, although the Twitter workers have yet to see any confirmation that James Musk is of any relation to their new owner. "This is it," one of the people familiar said, describing the feeling at the company under Musk. Many engineers were tasked over the weekend with "sprints," set periods of time for coding work to be done.

☆ Twitter team leaders and VPs have compiled lists for Elon Musk of who to keep based on performance evaluations. Employees expect layoffs to begin very soon.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-29 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Musk formally acquired Twitter late Thursday and has yet to address his new staff. He and his transition team are said to be planning "aggressive" layoffs, likely to begin very soon. Twitter employees expect Elon Musk to begin layoffs very soon because performance evaluations and code reviews have been progressing swiftly inside the company. The billionaire closed on his deal to acquire Twitter late Thursday. Team leaders and vice presidents at Twitter started stack ranking employees late Friday, two people familiar with the process told Insider.

☆ Inside Elon Musk's first day as leader of Twitter: Cancelled meetings, fake layoffs, orders to print out code, and a team of Musk advisers camped out in a separate part of the company's HQ.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-29 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Twitter employees predicted chaos after Elon Musk took over the company. Musk entered Twitter's San Francisco HQ carrying a bathroom sink, a joke about his ownership "sinking in." Meanwhile, engineers from Tesla were in Twitter's San Francisco office, some meeting individually with Twitter engineers, asking them about their work and some technical aspects of the platform. Musk worked on Friday at Twitter's San Francisco HQ with a small team he brought in to assist him in taking over the operations, people familiar with the matter said. Later in the day, he said "comedy is now legal on Twitter" and then separately tweeted an apparent joke about the two men who faked being laid off Twitter engineers.

☆ Elon Musk is being investigated by federal authorities over the $44 billion Twitter deal, the company said in a court filing
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Elon Musk is being investigated by federal authorities, Twitter said in a court filing. On October 6, Twitter requested that Musk's team hand over any correspondence with federal authorities. In a letter addressed to Judge Kathaleen St. Jude McCormick on October 6, Twitter requested the court compel Musk's team to hand over any correspondence with federal authorities. The company did not specify in the letter the exact focus of the investigation, or which federal authorities were conducting them. After Musk revived his $44 billion bid for Twitter, McCormick gave the Tesla CEO until October 28 to close the deal.

☆ Elon Musk is under federal investigation over his Twitter deal, Twitter claims
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN Business —Federal authorities are investigating Elon Musk in connection with his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter, the social media platform said in a court filing Thursday. Twitter’s filing merely said authorities are looking into Musk’s “conduct” linked to the deal. Twitter sued Musk to complete the acquisition, accusing the billionaire of using bots as a pretext to exit a deal that he developed buyer’s remorse over following a market decline. “Twitter’s executives are under federal investigation,” Spiro said in a statement to CNN. “Twitter did not ask Zatko to torch his own documents, much less demand that he do so,” Twitter’s filing read.

☆ One of the investors that agreed to back Elon Musk's Twitter bid says they want out of the deal
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Darius Rafieyan | Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

MVP partner says the VC firm committed to back Musk's Twitter acquisition earlier this year. Musk attorney says "vast majority of equity investors have been spoken to and are all in." With Elon Musk's Twitter acquisition looking like it's barreling towards a close, he will soon have to come up with $44 billion dollars — a lot of money even for the world's richest person. Alex Spiro, Musk's attorney, said "the vast majority of equity investors have been spoken to and are all in." Are you an investor in the Twitter deal, or an employee with insights to share?

☆ Elon Musk accuses SEC of unlawfully muzzling him
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Tom Krisher | Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

DETROIT (AP) — U.S. Securities regulators are unlawfully muzzling Tesla CEO Elon Musk, violating his free speech rights by continually trying to enforce a 2018 securities fraud settlement, Musk’s lawyer contends in a court brief. The SEC is investigating whether Musk violated the settlement with tweets last November asking Twitter followers if he should sell 10% of his Tesla stock. But in the brief, Musk attorney Alex Spiro contends that the SEC is continually investigating Musk for topics not covered by the settlement. The whole dispute stems from an October 2018 agreement with the SEC that Musk signed. The judge also said Musk’s argument that the SEC had used the settlement order to harass Musk and launch investigations was “meritless.”

Earlier court filings had indicated Musk would be deposed starting on Sept. 26, while a filing Saturday said Agrawal was also due to be questioned starting Monday morning. That day, Musk’s team learned of Agrawal’s rescheduling, the person said. Agrawal’s deposition could be a chance for Musk’s team to question him about Zatko’s whistleblower allegations. Agrawal also turned down an invitation to testify at a Senate committee hearing alongside Zatko earlier this month citing the litigation with Musk, according to Sen. Chuck Grassley. Twitter and Musk are set to go to trial over the acquisition dispute in mid-October.

☆ Elon Musk's legal team is frustrated after Twitter's CEO cancels his deal deposition on short notice
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Parag Agrawal canceled an interview with Elon Musk's lawyer the day before it was set to take place. Musk is expected to be interviewed later this week as part of the ongoing lawsuit. The Twitter CEO was set to be interviewed for 10 hours in San Francisco on Monday in a deposition scheduled to start at 9 am local time. Agrawal was to be questioned at length by Musk's New York-based lawyer Alex Spiro, a partner at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan. On Sunday, lawyers for Twitter emailed Musk's side to cancel Agrawal's deposition, citing "personal reasons."

☆ From Jay-Z to Elon Musk: Inside the rise of Quinn Emanuel partner Alex Spiro, one of the lawyers helping the billionaire break out of his $44 billion deal to buy Twitter
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Jack Newsham | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

Elon Musk has fired many lawyers but hired Alex Spiro for at least five cases, with a mixed record. But there's at least one lawyer who Musk seems to get along with: Alex Spiro. Spiro had been working behind the scenes for the billionaire when he was trying to buy Twitter. But they are hardly the "hardcore street fighters" Musk wants in a lawyer, according to a recent tweet of his. It's not clear how Spiro and Musk connected in the first place, but they seem to operate on the same wavelength.

The company’s lawyers will also depose Musk lieutenant Jared Birchall and lawyer Alex Spiro in the coming days, Tuesday filings show. News of the deposition plans comes as Twitter co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey is set to be deposed Tuesday by lawyers for the company and Musk. The new depositions are the latest sign that the legal battle between Musk and Twitter (TWTR) is heating up. The judge overseeing the acquisition dispute has ruled that Musk could add to his claims based on Zatko’s disclosure. Twitter has also subpoenaed Musk and a number of his associates as part of its case.

☆ Twitter is about to get its first chance to question Elon Musk under oath, and it's making a rare move in also deposing his lawyer
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

It's Twitter's first chance to question Musk under oath regarding his decision to ditch the deal. Most recently, Musk's legal team has amended its countersuit to include an explosive whistleblower complaint from a former Twitter security chief. During the pretrial discovery process, Twitter's lawyers have repeatedly complained of a lack of compliance from Musk and his legal team. Earlier this month, the Delaware judge overseeing the case called Musk's lawyers "suboptimal" in their efforts to produce people with knowledge of the deal. On Tuesday, Musk's legal team brought Twitter cofounder Jack Dorsey in for a deposition over zoom.

☆ Housing might be struggling in China but there are green shoots in commercial property
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-13 | by ( Su-Lin Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Commercial property is a bright spot in Chinese real estate, in contrast with the doom and gloom of the residential housing market. Likewise, property group CIFI Holdings posted a 23% year-on-year drop in home sales in China for the first half, but reported a 69.5% lift in its property investment revenue. While some investors sold assets to stay liquid, Spiro said the commercial sector generally has more supportive government and fiscal policies. All in all, the Chinese commercial property sector's resilience lies in its ability to rebound faster than its residential counterpart. Down but not outBut unlike housing, the commercial sector is rebounding particularly after lockdowns ended and government incentives kicked in, CBRE said.

☆ Twitter slams Elon Musk's third attempt to get out of the deal as 'illegal.' Next up, more Musk texts could be made public and the whistleblower will testify.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-12 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Musk's team argued an alleged $7.75 million severance to the Twitter whistleblower breached the deal. In the letter, Musk's lawyers argued that a recently reported $7.75 million severance payment given to Twitter whistleblower and ex-security chief Peiter Zatko breached the deal. Last week, one of Musk's text messages appeared to cast doubt on the billionaire's reasons for ditching the deal. Twitter's legal team used the tweet to support its argument that Musk is walking away from the deal due to economic concerns. More of Musk's text are expected to be released publicly as soon as Monday.

☆ Delaware court denies Musk request to delay Twitter trial
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-07 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

A Delaware court denied Elon Musk’s request to delay the trial over his attempt to abandon a $44 billion deal to buy Twitter, according to a new filing released on Wednesday. But the billionaire Tesla CEO will be allowed to add claims from a Twitter whistleblower to his countersuit, Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick ruled. The trial is expected to begin on October 17, earlier than the mid-November date Musk’s team requested in its latest push. “I previously rejected Defendants’ arguments in response to Twitter’s motion to expedite, making clear that the longer the delay until trial, the greater the risk of irreparable harm to Twitter,” McCormick wrote. Musk’s lawyers asked to add claims related to the whistleblower complaint recently made public by Twitter’s former head of security, Peiter “Mudge” Zatko.

☆ Judge calls Elon Musk's legal team's efforts 'suboptimal' and takes a dig at his decision to waive due diligence on Twitter deal
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-07 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A Judge had some harsh words for Elon Musk's legal team in its court battle with Twitter. Chancery Court Judge Kathleen St. J. McCormick sounded irritated with Musk's team at several points during the hearing. McCormick also called Musk's legal team "suboptimal" in its response to naming the parties involved in the deal. The judge pushed back at multiple claims from Musk's legal team. It wasn't the first time that the judge has had sharp words for Musk's legal team.

☆ Elon Musk takes another loss in Twitter battle as his request to delay trial is denied — but judge says he can add whistleblower allegations to his suit
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-07 | by ( Grace Kay | Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Twitter has already seen negative effects on its business during the case so far, the judge said. Musk's team cannot do any kind of extensive additional discovery that will delay the case, with the judge only allowing "incremental" and "targeted" requests for more document production from Twitter. She rejected the billionaire's request to delay the trial, his second attempt to do so, reiterating that any further delay poses an outsized risk to Twitter as a business. "I am convinced that even four weeks' delay would risk further harm to Twitter too great to justify." While Zatko's whistleblower claims mainly revolve around security issues at Twitter, Musk seized on them to prove his allegations of fraud.

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