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Elon Musk addresses Twitter staff, targets 1 billion users and a website 'you can't live without'

According to multiple reports, Musk also addressed possible layoffs at the company

IN AN UNUSUAL move for what has been an unusual takeover bid for Twitter by the world’s richest man, Tesla CEO Elon Musk met virtually with the social platform’s employees.

“Trust is as trust does. I tend to be extremely literal in what I say… One does not (need) to read between the lines. One can simply read the lines,” Musk said in the meeting, according to a tweet from Nola Weinstein, Twitter’s global head of brand experiences and engagement.

Weinstein did not immediately respond to a message for further comment and she subsequently deleted all her tweets about the meeting. Twitter declined to comment.

Musk, according to multiple news reports, also addressed possible layoffs at the company, saying that, right now, “costs exceed revenue. That’s not a great situation”.

He also touched on growth, saying he would like to see Twitter reach a billion users — roughly four times its current user base – and anonymity, where he earlier created a stir when he said he wants to “verify all humans” on the service.

At the meeting, he clarified that this does not mean he wants to have everyone on Twitter use their real names, like on Facebook, since pseudonyms can allow people to express their political views freely, according to The New York Times.

Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal announced the all-hands meeting to employees in an email on Monday, saying they would be able to submit questions in advance.

The meeting is a “clear step in the right direction towards the chances of a deal happening and a smart strategic move as Twitter employees have been left in the dark over the past few months and have many questions during this volatile period of uncertainty,” said Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives.

One of Musk’s key points at the meeting was to make Twitter “so compelling that you can’t live without it”, Weinstein tweeted.

Musk, who has more than 98 million followers on Twitter and is one of the platform’s most prolific users, also said that while some people “use their hair to express themselves, I use Twitter,” according to Weinstein.

Musk, according to multiple reports, also praised Chinese apps such as TikTok, which he said is good at keeping people engaged and not being “boring,” and WeChat, which he said could be a good model for what Twitter could be.

Musk reached a deal to acquire Twitter in April, but he has clashed with the company repeatedly since then over the number of bots, or fake accounts, that exist on the social media platform.

Musk said he was putting the deal on hold on 13 May, although it seems unlikely that he can do that on his own.

He said he needed more data from the company about those bot accounts, despite the fact that Twitter has reported its bot estimates — and its admission that they may be too low — to investors for years.

Twitter employees could have other reasons to be nervous about Musk’s impending takeover.

The irascible billionaire has levied a barrage of criticism at the company, from its moderation and safety policies, which he terms a threat to “free speech,” to its anonymous user accounts, which he would like to eliminate, to its ban of former president Donald Trump, which he has pledged to reverse.

Musk has also targeted Twitter’s work-from home policy, having once called for the company’s headquarters to be turned into a “homeless shelter” because, he said, so few employees actually worked there.

The comment also served as a thinly veiled jab at San Francisco, which has a large homeless population. He said during Thursday’s meeting that he strongly favours working in person, according to Ms Weinstein.

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    Mute ProtectKyiv
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    Jun 17th 2022, 9:38 AM

    Twitter is a colossal waste of time – like yelling out a window.

    152
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    Mute Megan Elizabeth FW
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    Jun 17th 2022, 10:38 AM

    @ProtectKyiv: Like every social media platform, it is what you make it. You can spend your time on it engaging in political debate and riling yourself up, adding to your smartphone essentially being a torch that tells you bad news, or you can follow and interact with people you know and funny accounts and use it for a bit of light relief when you’re bored. All about what you choose to put on your timeline!

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    Mute Bri Lyons
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    Jun 17th 2022, 10:53 AM

    @ProtectKyiv: bit like this comment section

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    Mute Sean McCarthy
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    Jun 17th 2022, 10:55 AM

    @ProtectKyiv: I completely agree, most social media platforms are a waste of time but Twitter is a particular cesspit.

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    Mute OConnelj
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    Jun 17th 2022, 11:10 AM

    A “website you can’t live without”, jesus.

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    Mute Sumsoar Khan
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    Jun 17th 2022, 11:14 AM

    @OConnelj: Sounds a bit worrying to be honest

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    Mute Steve O'Hara-Smith
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    Jun 17th 2022, 2:15 PM

    @OConnelj: I certainly can, no matter what he does to it.

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    Mute Rui Firmino
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    Jun 17th 2022, 11:01 AM

    What Twitter really needs is a narcissistic billionaire bully at the helm, said no one ever

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    Mute Michael Gannon
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    Jun 18th 2022, 9:26 AM

    @Rui Firmino: what makes him a narcissist?

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    Mute 8LLwCLed
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    Jun 18th 2022, 10:33 PM

    @Michael Gannon: ah, god love ya Michaél, you’re obviously new to the Internet. Here, I’ll Google it for you, this once:
    This is from Dictionary.com.

    narcissist
    [ nahr-suh-sist ]
    noun
    a person who is overly self-involved, and often vain and selfish.”

    That’s it, the stabilisers are off, you’re on your own. God Bless.

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    Mute Earth Traveller
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    Jun 17th 2022, 12:11 PM

    “verify all humans” – this is a terrible discrimination against creatures from other planets.

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    Mute Steve O'Hara-Smith
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    Jun 17th 2022, 2:16 PM

    @Earth Traveller: Quite so whatever happened to “On the Internet nobody knows you’re a dog”?

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    Mute Seymour business
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    Jun 17th 2022, 1:13 PM

    The three most intense love stories ever: Romeo and Juliet, Anthony and Cleopatra, Elon Musk and Elon Musk.

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    Mute Epgenetics29 Declan Christy
    Favourite Epgenetics29 Declan Christy
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    Jun 17th 2022, 9:38 AM

    Well he may be on to something there, for me if the incumbent sh!thousery continues in that pig sty otherwise known as Leinster house I will be using it. Leo the birch lizard and his mate from Waterford; Mehole ( no offence to Waterford intended) ‘he’s not a Cork man by any measure’ are the two I like to have a pop at, it gives me an enormous sense of well being. Just to add (this is for all the FFG bootlickers) I’m sure they couldn’t give a B…. but like your opinions on mine either do I. Have a great weekend no matter your affiliations.

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    Mute OnlyHereForTheComments
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    Jun 17th 2022, 10:34 AM

    @Epgenetics29 Declan Christy: State of this

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    Mute UK Hurling Bloke
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    Jun 17th 2022, 12:26 PM

    @Epgenetics29 Declan Christy: Having a pop your hole gives you an enormous sense of well-being?.
    Whatever gives you kicks – but too much info..

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    Mute Michael Nolan
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    Jun 17th 2022, 11:18 AM

    Sooner the better he builds that space ship and fxxkz off.

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    Mute Dennis Laffey
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    Jun 17th 2022, 1:01 PM

    Execs meeting with a prospective new owner… That’s extremely strange. The board and CEO would not be out of line if they took disciplinary actions.

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    Mute Anthony Ross
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    Jun 17th 2022, 5:25 PM

    Shut the twitter down if he removes the Trump ban

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    Mute john howard
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    Jun 17th 2022, 1:16 PM

    Plenty of Dogecoin adds to come on Twitter.

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    Mute Steve O'Hara-Smith
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    Jun 17th 2022, 7:34 PM

    We have much to thank Musk for. PayPal, getting electric cars accepted, drastically reducing the cost of orbital launches… But not this, nor his tweets, nor his employee relations…
    Talk about a mixed bag.

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