Musk Warns Twitter Employees Of “Tough Times Ahead” And Ends Remote Work

It has been reported that Elon Musk has delivered his first email to the staff of Twitter, putting an immediate end to remote work and advising them to prepare for a “dire” economy.
In the email that Musk addressed to Twitter employees late on Wednesday evening, he issued a warning that the company’s advertisements business might face challenges if the economic condition in the United States deteriorated further. “Frankly, the economic picture ahead is terrible, especially for a firm like ours that is so dependent on advertising in a hard economic atmosphere,” he wrote. “This is especially true for a company like ours that is so dependent on advertising in a challenging economic situation.” In addition, 70 percent of our advertising is focused on our brand rather than our specific performance, which leaves us in a double-whammy position.

Musk stated that the company’s “top priority” is Twitter Blue, the redesigned membership service that costs $8 per month and grants the user more functionality in addition to adding a verified check mark to their profile. According to what he stated, “there is a considerable probability that Twitter will not survive the forthcoming economic crisis” if the company does not generate a significant amount of cash from subscriptions. We need subscriptions to account for approximately half of our total revenue.

“Over the next few days, the absolute top priority is detecting and suspending any verified bots/trolls/spam,” Musk added in a follow-up email that was sent shortly after and had only one sentence. The email was simply titled “Top Priority.”

In addition to that, he informed the staff that beginning on November 10th, they are required to be present at the office for a minimum of forty hours per week, and that he would only give permission for employees to work remotely on an individual basis. “Obviously, if you are physically unable to travel to an office or have a crucial personal responsibility, then your absence is understandable,” he wrote. “If you have a serious personal obligation, then your absence is understandable.”

Prior to the epidemic, Twitter had a policy that allowed employees to work from any location, and it continued to enforce this policy. Musk has made it clear that he is against the practice of telecommuting at Tesla, but he did say in a question and answer session with Twitter workers back in June that “special” people will be permitted to continue the practice.

In an email sent out to Twitter staff on Wednesday, Musk said, “The road ahead is difficult and will require intense work to succeed.” Bloomberg was the first news outlet to publish on the contents of Musk’s email. As soon as he took ownership of Twitter, one of the first things he did was fire without warning half of the company’s employees and disband entire departments. In the meantime, Meta has just announced that it will be laying off 11,000 people, and analysts have been forecasting a slower growth in advertising spend in 2023.

The unorganized manner in which Musk manages Twitter and his personal tweeting have already had an impact on the company’s advertising revenue. As a result of Musk’s acquisition of Twitter and his plans to make the platform more about “free speech,” a number of large advertisers, such as the insurance company Allianz and the automobile manufacturer Audi, have halted their spending on Twitter advertisements.

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Musk stated on Wednesday, during a public question and answer session held on Twitter Spaces, that he was aware of the concerns raised by advertisers and that there have not been any modifications made to the content moderation policies of the platform. Musk has previously pointed the finger at unknown “activist groups” and accused them of “trying to kill free speech in America.” He did so without presenting any proof to support his assertion that “activist groups” were responsible for advertisers dropping campaigns.

The most noticeable change that Twitter has made to its verification system is that it now allows anybody to pay $8 for a badge that formerly indicated an official account. This move has already made it possible for a large number of people to impersonate corporations and celebrities on Twitter.