According to reports, Twitter employees are struggling to accept the news that Tesla CEO Elon Musk is about to acquire the company. Some of them were too shocked to speak out over Musk’s plans for freedom of speech.
The Washington Post reported Monday that several Twitter employees voiced grave concerns about Musk’s purchase of the company for $44 billion. They also expressed concern that Musk might reverse the censorship mechanisms they have worked so hard to implement.
Some employees posted tearful emojis and memes about their emotional reactions to the news of the sale. Some employees were too shocked to talk about the future of their company in some cases.
Twitter hosted a town hall for employees on Monday. Management reportedly failed to answer questions about free speech, future layoffs and whether Twitter will make revenue from advertising.
One Twitter employee said, “Totally understand that entertainment is for some.” “But please understand that it is not entertainment for me.”
Another posted, “The news today has been so insane I almost forgot that I have COVID.”
The Post also stated that not all employees reacted negatively, even one who expressed “cautious optimism” that Musk wouldn’t buy the company to make it sink.
Talmon Joseph Smith, a New York Times reporter, tweeted that TwitterHQ’s mood is “absolutely crazy” and that an internal source told him that he felt like he was going to vomit.. “I don’t want to work for a company owned by Elon Musk.”
The acquisition by Musk of Twitter caused a storm this week, with conservatives on Twitter applauding the move in hopes that Musk would reduce Twitter censorship. Liberals threatened to leave the platform and fretting about whether former President Donald Trump will be reinstated.
Musk stated that free speech is the foundation of a functioning democracy and that Twitter is the digital square where vital issues for the future of humanity can be discussed in a press release. I also want Twitter to be better than ever. This includes enhancing the product with new features and making the algorithms open-source to increase trust, defeating spam bots, authenticating all users, and ensuring that the platform is always up to date. Twitter has incredible potential. I look forward working with the company, the community of users, to unlock it.
