Running Twitter was “extremely painful,” billionaire Elon Musk told the BBC.
“It wasn’t boring,” Musk said in an interview held at Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters on the afternoon of the 11th (local time), discussing his ownership of Twitter, including firings, misinformation, and his style of work. It felt like a rollercoaster ride,” he said. His interview was broadcast live through his Twitter space.
After acquiring Twitter last year for $44 billion (58.366 trillion won), Musk led change by eliminating the communications department within the company. Journalists who email Twitter for comment now receive an automated reply with a poop emoji.
Musk said he sometimes slept on the sofa at Twitter’s San Francisco office, and that most of the advertisers who had turned away from Twitter after his acquisition had returned, but declined to elaborate.
“If current trends continue, Twitter said ‘cash flow could turn positive’ during the second quarter of this year,” Musk said. However, Twitter is a private company, so it is not possible to verify financial information.
Twitter made massive layoffs to cut costs after Musk’s takeover. The workforce, which was about 8,000 before the acquisition, is now about 1,500. Musk responded by claiming it was something he had to do for Twitter.
“It’s not fun at all,” Musk said. If costs are not cut immediately, the company will go bankrupt. Then (if they go bankrupt) no one will have a job.”
When asked if he regretted acquiring Twitter, he said, “It was a must-do,” but added, “The pain level on Twitter was extremely high. It wasn’t like a party.”
[런던=AP/뉴시스]
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.