Featured Image Credit: Credit: Alamy
Topics: Elon Musk, Twitter, Technology
Cameron Frew
Twitter employees have reportedly branded Elon Musk an 'a***hole' after his recent offer to buy the company.
Coming after the Tesla and SpaceX chief became the social media firm's largest single stakeholder with a 9.2 percent stake, his ambitions have broadened somewhat: now he wants the whole thing, and he's willing to pay more than $41 billion for it.
Musk's place in Twitter has sparked constant speculation, especially given his posts about the platform's strategy and his last-minute decision not to join the board of directors.
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According to survey of verified Twitter employees conducted by Blind, the results of which were shared with the New York Post, 68 percent disagree with Musk's tweets about the company, whether it's the possible addition of an edit button, removing ads or making Twitter a paid service.
A larger 78 percent also believe Musk doesn't have 'the best interests of Twitter and its shareholders' in mind with his posts.
In the survey, one employee wrote: "Don’t want him as CEO. He has no compassion."
Another wrote: "I’m not convinced he’s in the best place mentally," while a third described him as a 'dangerously insane oligarch'.
Just more than half (52 percent) agree with Musk not joining the company's board, with one writing: "Elon’s vision and Twitter don’t align."
Also, 69 percent have criticised Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal - who took over from Jack Dorsey last year - and the board for a 'poor' job in its handling of the controversy surrounding Musk, with some branding the Tesla boss an 'a***hole'.
Others have accused Musk of a 'pump and dump scheme' with buying the stock, which caused Twitter's stock to rise by 25 percent. "He’s either just pumping and dumping or [has] no plan," one employee said.
Basically, they've alleged that Musk is buying up the stock to increase the price of shares, with plans to sell them at a premium and make a huge amount of money.
When Musk disclosed his stake, Twitter's share price rose from $39.31 to $49.97. He's since found himself at the centre of a class action lawsuit, accused of 'materially false and misleading statements and omissions' which caused former shareholders to 'miss the resulting share price increase... and were damaged thereby'.
During a recent TED Talk, Musk opened up about his goals with Twitter, saying it's 'very important that there will be an inclusive arena for free speech' - however, he admitted it may not be as easy as he hoped.
He said: "I’m not actually sure I will be able to acquire," coming after reports of the board's plans for a 'poison pill', which would make any takeover a more unattractive prospect.
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