Musk's assumptions about the bankruptcy of Twitter
Entrepreneur Elon Musk said in his first address to Twitter employees that the company could go bankrupt if it does not bring in more money. This was reported by Bloomberg news agency on Thursday, citing sources.
According to the agency, Musk, who recently became the owner of Twitter, issued several stern warnings to employees of the company. In particular, employees need to prepare for an 80-hour work week and reduced office privileges like free food. The businessman has also banned employees from working from home.
Speaking about the future of Twitter and the company's finances, Musk said it urgently needs to make Twitter Blue an $8 product that people will want to pay for, given advertisers' refusal to partner with the enterprise. That said, according to a Bloomberg interlocutor familiar with Musk's management style, the billionaire has used the threat of financial ruin in the past in an attempt to motivate employees.
Also, a separate lawyer for the company warned in the company's Slack channel that Musk is taking a cavalier attitude towards privacy rules and that the company potentially risks significant fines from the FTC, according to a report by The Verge, which was confirmed by the person who reviewed the post.
In addition to regulatory challenges, Musk, the self-proclaimed "absolutist of free speech", faces an uphill battle to revive his already struggling Twitter business.
Already on Friday, he warned of a "massive drop in revenue" as major brands such as General Motors, Mondelez and Carlsberg suspended spending on the platform over concerns over his plans to loosen content moderation.
He also faces annual interest payments of $1 billion after loading the company with $13 billion in debt to help fund his acquisition of the business.
On October 27, Musk closed a $44 billion deal to buy Twitter, the company that owns the social network of the same name. According to documents posted by the US Securities and Exchange Commission on 31 October, the entrepreneur is going to dissolve the company's board of directors. Musk fired several members of the board immediately after purchasing Twitter. Later, Bloomberg reported that the businessman plans to cut his staff by almost half.
