Elon’s Twitter takeover is a parable for our hi-tech age

I MUST have been living under a rock as I only started hearing about Elon Musk about a year ago, and that was only because by that stage he was said to be the richest man in the world.

If you want it spelled out in layman’s terms he has 140 thousand million.

So, no worries there for him about paying for the fish and chips and a bottle of plonk on a Friday evening.

Anyway, as we all know, great wealth is usually accompanied by a kind of arrogance that has been described as the Master of the Universe syndrome.

And, apparently, our Elon has that in spades, believing he can get what he wants, when he wants it and no arguments.

Oh boy, did he get that wrong.

The background to the story currently dominating the headlines is that in a gesture of considerable conceit Musk offered $44billion for Twitter.

Needless to say, the company’s shareholders almost bit his hand off as his offer was way, way more than Twitter was worth.

After he had signed up to the deal, buyer’s remorse set in almost immediately as even the village idiot would have known it was ridiculous business decision.

For several weeks he attempted to back out. But he was warned he would not only face a barrage of legal actions that would keep him tied up in court for a very long time but it would also be ruinously expensive.

So, as he was up s*** creek, he decided he had better look for a paddle and the one he decided to go with has turned out to be the nuclear option.

Here’s the story of – please note the irony – a genius at work.

On day one as Twitter CEO he sacked the top management, made himself sole director, and told half the worldwide staff of more than 7,000 people their jobs would be going.

The following day the other half were informed they had better be prepared to work 12-hour shifts seven days a week for no extra pay.

If they weren’t prepared to sign up to the new rules and regulations they were out. And this is where karma caught up with our Elon.

Apparently he and his team were taken totally off-guard by the number of staff who opted by last Thursday’s deadline to take severance.

With a workforce now more than 70% smaller than before his takeover – some suggesting it could be as high as 88% – he was panicking on Friday last as he tried to persuade key staff to stay.

Again, according to various reports, most were having none of it, some even hanging up on him during a pleading video call.

I am not much of a Bible scholar so I had to look this up. It’s the verse from Luke 14:11 which reads: “For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

To me Elon Musk’s story is Biblical, a kind of parable for our hi-tech age.

An arrogant rich man in a rash move motivated by hubris pays way too much for a toy that he wanted, a toy that would make him the big player on social media.

Oh the power, the glory, the influence it would bring.

And then when the reality hit, like a spoiled child he tried to get others to pick up the tab for his foolish actions.

That toy, Twitter, is currently in turmoil, seemingly in freefall. It could be $44bn down a black hole.

Pride really doth cometh before a fall.

Twitter is currently in turmoil, seemingly in freefall