Ahead of a planned buyout of social media platform Twitter Inc TWTR, Tesla Inc TSLA CEO Elon Musk answered questions from Twitter employees about what the acquisition means and where Twitter is headed.
What Happened: Twitter employees were able to submit questions ahead of a meeting with Musk Thursday with no guarantee they would be answered. The questions come as Musk offered to buy Twitter for $44 billion.
With questions about the number of spam accounts, many have expressed Musk has doubts about continuing the acquisition or the potential for a lower buyout offer.
Here is a look at the topics covered as reported by CNBC.
Musk on Twitter: Musk told employees he loves Twitter.
“I learn a lot from what I learn on Twitter,” Musk said.
Musk called the social media platform a great way to get messages out.
“Some people use their hair to express themselves, I use Twitter.”
Musk on Free Speech: One topic of much discussion by employees and the public is what a Twitter takeover by Musk could mean in terms of free speech on the platform. Musk told employees that people should be allowed to say racist things on the social media platform but Twitter shouldn’t promote it.
Musk said Twitter users have the ability to filter out content they think is harmful. Twitter is more about entertainment and information and less about not offending people, Musk said.
Musk said it is important to get all humans on Twitter and if 10% of the far left and 10% of the far right are both upset, Twitter is where it should be.
Related Link: Elon Musk Estimates That 20% Of Twitter Users Are Fake
Musk on Twitter Employees: Musk was asked how he can build trust with current Twitter employees after taking the company over.
“If someone is getting useful things done, that’s great. If they’re not then I’m like why are they at the company.”
Musk also discussed the possibility of Twitter going back to in-person work, a similar move to what he just said for Tesla.
Musk told employees that if they are exceptional at their job, they should be allowed to work remotely.
“Tesla makes cars, and you can’t make cars remotely.”
Musk on Twitter Layoffs: In response to a question of potential layoffs at Twitter, Musk said it will depend on the financial situation of the company.
“The company does need to get healthy. Right now the costs exceed the revenue.”
Musk said those are significant contributors to Twitter have nothing to worry about.
Musk Doesn’t Need to be CEO: Musk told employees he cares about growing the Twitter product and leading direction but doesn’t need to be the CEO of the company. Musk is currently the CEO of both Tesla and SpaceX.
Growth of Twitter: Musk wants to see daily active users on Twitter top the one billion figure. Twitter ended the recent first quarter with 229 million global monetizable daily active users.
Another measure of success for Twitter will be if it is helping to further civilization, Musk added.
TWTR Price Action: Twitter shares are down 1.03% to $37.59 at the time of publication Thursday. Shares were up to $38.50 before the meeting ended.
Photo: Daniel Oberhous via Flickr Creative Commons
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