Elon Musk, the new owner of Twitter and the CEO of both SpaceX and Tesla, told the company's staff on Thursday that he sold Tesla stock to save his newly-owned social network, according to a report by CNBC.
He made the comments at an all-hands conference that he organized to inspire the hard work of Twitter employees who had survived mass layoffs. Musk fired over half of Twitter's staff after buying the company for $44 billion, or $54.20 per share.
Saving Twitter
Last week, Musk sold at least an additional $3.95 billion worth of Tesla stock to pay for the Twitter acquisition deal. The shares he just sold included 19.5 million additional Tesla shares, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission that were made public on Tuesday.
He also sold shares of Tesla earlier this year, for over $7 billion in August and over $8 billion in April, as per CNBC.
Along with friends, investors, and deputies from other firms he has co-founded, Musk has recruited staff from Tesla, including dozens of Autopilot engineers, to assist with code review and other duties at Twitter.
Elon Musk also cautioned Twitter employees on Thursday, asking them to be ready for challenging times if they can't find new revenue streams.
The modifications were a part of Musk's purchase of the social media platform on another busy day. In an email sent to employees on Wednesday night, Musk directed them to stop working from home and come into the office on Thursday morning.
Musk reportedly said that certain "exceptional" employees might ask for an exemption from his return-to-office mandate, while those who are against the setup could resign, according to an employee who attended the conference and spoke anonymously to AP.
It has been a "priority over the past 10 days," according to Musk, to build and roll out Twitter's new $7.99 monthly membership service, which places a blue check mark next to the names of paying users.
Read Also : Elon Musk in Trouble with the FTC? Agency Warns Twitter's Current Practices May Violate Agreements
Musk's Era
Musk's takeover of the social network has not been particularly smooth-sailing. In fact, several big businesses have stopped running ads on Twitter, including Tesla's competitor GM. A number of celebrities have also left the platform as they expressed uncertainty about the billionaire's leadership.
The surviving Twitter employees now face challenging working conditions to fulfill the demands of the new Chief Twit while the company continues to lose high-level personnel in charge of data protection, regulatory compliance, and cybersecurity.
Yoel Roth, Twitter's head of trust and safety, is one of those officials who reportedly quit the bird app. An official who confirmed Roth's resignation was seen by AP looking through an internal message board.
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Written by Jace Dela Cruz
