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Twitter employees in dark over future with Musk

Eliza Sayon Apr 28, 2022

2 min read

Twitter’s Chief Executive Parag Agrawal has told the company’s employees that the future of the social media platform is uncertain after the deal was made with billionaire Elon Musk.

CEO Agrawal addressed Twitter’s employees regarding the news during a company-wide town hall meeting on Monday that was heard by Reuters.

Early this week, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk sealed the deal to buy Twitter for $61 billion, shifting the control of the social media platform populated by millions of users and global leaders to one of the world’s richest people.

Musk has previously criticised the social media platform’s moderation abilities, stating that its algorithm for prioritising tweets should be public, and for giving too much power and influence to advertising corporations.

The Tesla and SpaceX CEO, who calls himself a free speech absolutist, promised a more lenient touch on policing content on the social media platform.

He also promised user-friendly tweaks to the service, such as an edit button and defeating “spambots” that send overwhelming amounts of unwanted tweets.

Musk is expected to join Twitter’s staff for a question-and-answer session at a later date.

As CEO Agrawal listened to staff questions about Musk’s plans for the company, the possibility of lay-offs and the board’s rationale for the deal, he deferred many questions as ones that should be asked of Musk.

Since Musk has said that he believes Twitter should be a platform for free speech, employees asked CEO Agrawal whether former US President Donald Trump, who was permanently suspended from Twitter last year, would be allowed to return once Musk takes over.

“Once the deal closes, we don’t know which direction the platform will go,” he said, referring to the question regarding Trump.

“I believe when we have an opportunity to speak with Elon, it’s a question we should address with him.”

CEO Agrawal also told employees there were no plans for lay-offs.

Bret Taylor, chair of Twitter’s board of directors, aimed to reassure employees that the agreement with Musk prioritised “operating continuity” until the deal was closed.

With AAP

Eliza Sayon

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Eliza is a content producer and editor at Public Spectrum. She is an experienced writer on topics related to the government and to the public, as well as stories that uplift and improve the community.