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Elon Musk warned Twitter staffers its enterprise wanted to “get wholesome” and endure a “rationalisation of headcount and bills” as he addressed the social media platform’s staff straight for the primary time since launching his $44bn takeover bid.
Talking to its 8,000-strong workforce through a smartphone video, Musk on Thursday laid out a daring imaginative and prescient for Twitter’s future if he succeeds in taking the corporate non-public. The freewheeling dialog additionally touched on points together with content material moderation, distant work and aliens.
The billionaire Tesla chief govt stated he wished Twitter to construct up a person base of not less than 1bn individuals globally, in keeping with an individual accustomed to the state of affairs. The corporate has 229mn monetisable every day energetic customers — logged-in customers to whom the platform reveals promoting.
Doing so would imply making certain persons are not “harassed” on Twitter, he stated, whereas additionally including an array of options to emulate Chinese language platform WeChat, a “superapp” the place customers can ship messages, funds, store or e book taxis in a single place.
In a nod to a second Chinese language-owned app, he stated that TikTok had efficiently ensured its content material was not “boring” — and that Twitter ought to observe in its footsteps.
However Musk additionally hinted that lay-offs, cost-cutting or a restructuring may be in retailer, including: “Proper now prices exceed income. That’s not an important state of affairs.”
His solutions within the hour-long assembly, throughout which questions from staff had been learn out to him by Twitter’s chief advertising officer Leslie Berland, counsel that he’s nonetheless forging plans for a way he’ll run the corporate.
But it surely additionally comes after Musk has repeatedly criticised Twitter’s management, accusing executives of failing to offer adequate knowledge on faux accounts and breaching obligations across the deal. This has led to hypothesis that he could also be manoeuvring to renegotiate at a lower cost or stroll away.
Musk first made his bid for Twitter in April on the promise of bringing “free speech” to what he dubbed the “digital city sq.”, and rowing again in opposition to content material moderation restrictions. On Thursday, he doubled down on these proposals, including that he believed “fairly outrageous” tweets ought to be allowed on the platform.
Musk stated that promoting would stay necessary to driving revenues however that he hoped to diversify into funds, subscriptions and paid-for person verification. In an early presentation shared with buyers, he stated he would search to quintuple revenues to $24.6bn by 2028, in keeping with a supply accustomed to the doc.
Morale at Twitter has been low all through the method, with many staff unsure about job safety if the deal is finalised, or, if it falls by means of, whether or not the corporate’s share worth may be hit.
Some concern Musk’s intense management type will conflict with Twitter’s extra relaxed office tradition. He has not too long ago insisted his Tesla staff present up for not less than 40 hours per week within the workplace or discover one other employer — in stark distinction to Twitter’s promise in the course of the coronavirus pandemic that staff can “make money working from home full-time ceaselessly” in the event that they so select.
Throughout Thursday’s assembly, Musk softened his stance barely, saying that whereas he was biased in direction of in-person work, Twitter staff who produce “distinctive” work would possibly have the ability to work remotely.
In a single rambling reply to a query about whether or not he meant to grow to be chief govt, he stated he didn’t thoughts both approach, earlier than outlining his imaginative and prescient of “increasing consciousness” on the planet and musing on whether or not aliens exist. “I’ve seen no precise proof of aliens . . . but,” he added.
Further reporting by James Fontanella-Khan
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