Twitter: Musk Gives Employees Ultimatum

Facts

• In an email to Twitter employees, Elon Musk said the company’s remaining staff have until Thursday to commit to working “long hours at high intensity” and be “extremely hardcore” or leave with three months of severance pay.
• According to former Uber engineer Gergely Orosz, Musk’s email outlines a “Twitter 2.0” driven by engineers, with “those writing great code" taking more important roles inside the company.
• Musk's email also said the "hardcore" nature of the company "will mean working long hours at high intensity," adding that "Only exceptional performance will constitute a passing grade.”
• The latest move to restructure the company culture comes after Musk laid off around half of Twitter's workforce earlier this month in an alleged effort to cut costs and improve efficiency.
• Musk has laid out ambitious goals for how he plans to change the platform and is pushing Twitter's staff to achieve them as he attempts to bolster the company’s bottom line.
• The news also comes as Twitter halted its new Twitter Blue verification scheme after only two days due to issues resulting in advertisers pausing campaigns.

Sources: Guardian, Verge, Economic Times, Yahoo, and CNN.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by IJR. Twitter employees previously enjoyed an unfettered culture and aren't used to an ambitious and disciplined leader. Working hard for 40 hours a week from the office is the norm, so it shouldn't be a surprise that the company's owner is calling for just that.
• Narrative B, as provided by NY Times. Musk isn't just cutting costs to save money or ridding the company of poor performers; he's eradicating dissent. Multiple employees have been fired on a whim for simply liking a post critical of the CEO. If Musk wants to build a successful platform, he should refrain from declaring war on the people who design it.