He promised it Twitter don’t turn into hell. Become “an online public space where they can [οι χρήστες] to express different opinions in a healthy way without resorting to violence.” But Elon Musk he never made a career out of the loneliness of his thoughts.

The epic was supposed to end with the completion of the purchase of a controlling stake in Twitter by the founder of Tesla and SpaceX. Musk acquired control of Twitter on October 27 for $44 billion.

But after 15 days with an eccentric billionaire at the helm, platforms appeared …. cacophony, euphemisms, failures, a rain of layoffs and resignations, warnings from the authorities, the flight of advertisers and, finally, the threat of bankruptcy.

Elon Musk’s Twitter account is under fire from all sides, despite his attempts to motivate employees to stay at the company and dream of an “exciting” future with it.

“Two Weeks of Chaos”

“The future is very exciting, I can’t wait to see it happen to you,” the new boss said yesterday at the start of an internal meeting for employees who kept their jobs after the massive layoffs he ordered a week ago.

But the risk of bankruptcy is looming, and Musk later admitted he didn’t know how “earnings-hungry” the business would be next year.

“We may be short of several billion in cash,” he said, according to reports between employees seen by AFP.

In an internal letter the day before, he wrote to them that the course would be “exhausting” and that they would now have to “go to the office at least 40 hours a week” after several months of remote work.

The staff also asked him about the risks of rapidly developing new, untested features, the preferred method of the Tesla and SpaceX boss.

Reason for concern? The U.S. Competition Authority (FTC) issued a rare warning on the platform yesterday: “We are following the latest developments on Twitter with great concern,” Douglas Farrar, FTC director of communications, told Reuters. “No CEO or company is above the law.” The service recalled that the platform risks receiving significant fines if it does not comply with the rules of the agreement reached with the service on security and data confidentiality.

However, many employees who know these rules no longer work on Twitter.

Elon Musk “now exists in a world where there are no rules,” notes Derek Robertson in an article for Politico. He adds that Musk’s new company is in turmoil and top security officials are leaving. A leaked memo from a lawyer from the Twitter privacy group quoted Musk’s lawyer as saying, “Elon sends rockets into space, he’s not afraid of the FTC.”

Today’s lengthy New York Times article sets the tone: “Two weeks of chaos” for Musk’s takeover of the platform.

“It’s Not Boring”

The head of Tesla and SpaceX fired half of the California-based company’s 7,500 employees a week ago, ten days after he bought it and took over as sole helmsman.

Hundreds of people have already left this summer, and leadership resignations have continued in recent days. Yesterday Thursday, Damien Kieran, Director of Privacy, and Leah Kisner, Director of Security, announced their departures.

According to US media, other executives also decided to leave the company, including Joel Roth, “the former head of Twitter’s security and integrity department.” Roth has intervened several times in recent days to clarify changes or to ensure that fighting disinformation remains a “top priority.”

However, Robin Wheeler, the platform’s head of client solutions, whose departure was reported by US media, tweeted on Thursday evening: “I’m still here.”

Twitter is facing a class action lawsuit from former employees who allege they were not notified of layoffs under US federal law.

Memes (humorous images) related to chaos and panic are being circulated on the platform.

Musk constantly reiterates that content moderation, protecting the platform from abuse, remains unchanged.

He said yesterday that Twitter usage “continues to grow,” adding, “One thing’s for sure: it’s not boring.”

US President Joe Biden said last Friday that by buying Twitter, Musk bought a social networking platform that spreads lies around the world.

Reaction: On the eve of the US midterm elections, Musk urged Americans to vote for Republican candidates for Congress.

“The circus”

Musk’s hasty decisions and Twitter challenges have been a source of daily controversy for two weeks, causing concern among authorities, advertisers, users and minority groups.

Many advertisers have stopped investing in a very influential social network whose economic model is 90% dependent on advertising.

Insider Intelligence has cut its Twitter ad revenue forecast by 39% in 2023 and 2024.

Musk wants to diversify his sources of income.

But Wednesday’s cacophonous launch of Twitter Blue, its new $8-a-month user account authentication formula, has led to controversy and an explosion of fake profiles.

“You can ‘hold’ me all day, but it will cost you $8,” he said a few days ago.

Result of the new policy: Super Mario Bros. from Nintendo gets the middle finger. LeBron James request a transfer. George Walker Bush writes: “I miss killing Iraqis.” The permanent reliability of these… 8 euros. Users who, by paying for a subscription, impersonated the above. And among other things, “correct” posts like “The Holocaust was fake news.”

Also, many users changed their profile to “Elon Musk”, posing as a billionaire, and forced him to delete accounts that thus ridiculed him.

“Please note that Twitter will be doing a lot of stupid things in the coming months. We will keep what works and change what doesn’t work,” the multibillionaire tweeted.

Earlier this week, he sold nearly $4 billion worth of shares in his flagship company, Tesla. “I did this to save Twitter,” he told employees yesterday.

Elon Musk wanted to buy the California company in the spring, then he didn’t want it in the summer and was forced to buy in the fall to avoid a lawsuit, as a result of which the company was in debt.

“This whole Twitter circus needs to stop… It’s damaging the (Tesla) brand image,” analyst Dan Ives said yesterday.

With Liberation in an article that says “What if we collectivize Twitter?”

^{According to Liberation, Politico, New York Times, AFP, Reuters, dpa, APE – BEE}