Elon Musk Insults Ex-Employees And Apologises Later
The often rough nature of Elon Musk is now well known, especially in connection with the dismissals on Twitter, it has come to light again and again. Recently it was that time again because he insulted an ex-employee – and had to row back.
It takes a lot for Elon Musk to publicly apologize or admit a mistake, but in the case of Halli Thorleifsson, the Twitter boss had no choice. Because the Icelander has contacted his ex-boss to find out whether he actually still works for the short message service.
Thorleifsson wrote in several tweets that all he really wanted to know was whether he was still employed or not. He did not receive a formal notice of termination, but at the same time, he could no longer log into the systems. The 45-year-old remained friendly and factual, which cannot be said of Musk’s later answers.
Am I still employed or not?
The matter began a few days ago with a tweet in which Thorleifsson wrote: “Nine days ago, my work computer was cut off, along with about 200 other Twitter employees. However, their head of human resources is unable to confirm whether I’m still an employee or not. They haven’t replied to my emails. Maybe if enough people retweet them, they’ll reply to me here?”
The tweet was actually retweeted thousands of times, and that’s what prompted Musk to comment. At first, however, he pretended to be ignorant and wanted to know what Thorleifsson had actually done. The Icelander replied calmly, but Musk became more and more condescending – and personal – with later (now partially deleted) tweets.
He accused Thorleifsson of not having to work at all because he had enough money after Twitter took over his company. Finally, Musk also referred to an “apology” that Thorleifsson has a disability that prevents him from typing “and at the same time sent out a number of tweets. I can’t say I have much respect for that.”
Musk mocks Thorleifsson’s disability
Musk continued: “He has a prominent, active Twitter account and is wealthy. The reason he confronted me in public was the prospect of a large settlement.” But here, too, Thorleifsson reacted surprisingly calmly and explained that he was in a wheelchair because of muscular dystrophy and could only type the tweets with his mobile phone.
The story spread, and Musk’s claim that Thorleifsson was wealthy also began to crack, at least in the way he had presented it. It is true that Twitter took over Thorleifsson’s company, but the amount was not paid as a lump sum at the time, but via wages and salaries. The reason for this: the entrepreneur explicitly wanted to pay more taxes in Iceland in order to support the country’s social system.
Ultimately, Musk had to backtrack sheepishly, writing on Twitter (also after a video call with Thorleifsson): “I would like to apologize to Halli for my misunderstanding of his situation. It was based on things I was told that is not true, or in some cases, it is true but not meaningful. He is considering staying on Twitter.”
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