Elon Musk apologizes to a fired employee. “It’s better to talk than to communicate via tweets”

Haraldur Thorleifsson, also known online as Halli, is an Icelandic entrepreneur and founder of the creative agency Ueno, which has collaborated with brands such as Airbnb, Apple, ESPN, Dropbox, Facebook, Google, PayPal and Walmart. In 2021, his company was acquired by Twitter.

to find out if he’s still employed at Twitter. In late February, he suddenly lost access to his computer and employee systems. However, he did not receive any information from the HR department about a possible dismissal from the company.

After a not-so-pleasant exchange with Musk, Thorleifsson learned that he no longer works at Twitter. Elon Musk, however, did not stop at the humiliation of asking about his employment from a boss who is watched by 132 million people.

Musk ended the short exchange with two emoticons, the meaning of which does not need to be explained to anyone. However, he did not stop there. In one of the later entries, the billionaire claimed that Thorleifsson was not doing his job and was using his disability as an excuse.

Despite assurances on Twitter that he was working, it turned out that he told HR that he could not work because he could not write, and at the same time he was writing about inbie on Twitter. Despite this, many people on Twitter still defend him. It hurts my faith in humanity

– explained Elon Musk.

For the billionaire, however, it was still not enough. In another post (which was later deleted), Musk wrote that Thorleifsson “is the worst”.

The employee in a series of entries decided to refer to Musk’s allegations. He reported that he suffers from muscular dystrophy, which ended up in a wheelchair. Over time, his hands also began to weaken, despite earlier assurances from doctors that the disease should not affect them.

Thorleifsson recalled that Musk assured that he would not lay off 75 percent of his employees. crew, which he later did. He also wrote that he himself did not know when he was actually fired from the company, because there were so many successive rounds of layoffs, each of which was supposed to be the last one.

Elon Musk apologizes. He says he was misled

During the discussion on Twitter, photographer Daniel Houghton stood up for the dismissed employee.

As the person who worked directly with @iamharaldur during the changes [w Twitterze – red.] I am very disappointed with what I see. Not only is his work ethic superior, but his talent and humility are world class. This is exactly the person you want on your team […] I’m sure there’s some deep misunderstanding here since you say he “didn’t do any work”

said Houghton.

These words apparently sobered up the new owner of Twitter. In response, Elon Musk informed that he had a video call with Thorleifsson, during which the two men explained the misunderstanding.

It’s better to talk to people than to communicate via tweets

he said. Then the word “sorry” appeared.

I would like to apologize to Hallie for my misunderstanding of his situation. My judgment was based on things I was told that were untrue or, in some cases, true but meaningless. [Halli – red.] considers staying on Twitter

– wrote Elon Musk, who – as is customary in similar situations – once again shifted the responsibility for his words to other people.

Elon Musk slows down for power

Elon Musk took over Twitter in October 2022. In this short time, the controversial billionaire has managed to cause several minor and major scandals related to the platform. He started his rule in the company by laying off half of the employees. He then introduced a new way to verify accounts, which sparked a tsunami of fake news on the platform.

As reported by the BBC, Musk laid off another 200 employees at Twitter last month. This means that the company now employs just over 2,000 people – up from 7,500 in October last year.