New Twitter CEO Elon Musk issues an ultimatum

‘Chief Twit” is a fitting moniker for Twitter’s new chief executive officer. It’s not an insult, but rather what Elon Musk has dubbed himself, after he acquired the social media platform, recently. However, his actions and how he’s treating employees would indicate that he is, indeed, living up to the true meaning of the word “twit.”

Anyone who has read about him recently, would likely agree with that he is full of ego. In fact, since taking over as CEO of Twitter, it seems that his ego has begun to get the better of him. Make no mistake: he is in charge at Twitter.

Over the weekend, the offices at Twitter were closed. They closed, on Friday, and were scheduled to reopen on Monday.

On Thursday, Twitter sent out a company-wide email saying badge access would be cut off during the temporary closure. It’s not clear why the decision was made to close the offices.

Then, in a pair of widely distributed emails sent at the start of business, on Friday, Musk called for “anyone who actually writes software” to report to Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters by noon, Friday.

First, he asked that they send him a high-level report of the best code they worked on in the last six months. After the initial email, he sent a follow-up, encouraging people to fly to San Francisco to present in person. He said he’d be working late into the night, Friday, and again, on Saturday morning.

Musk said the point of sharing the code and meeting with him would be to do “short, technical interviews” that would help him “better understand the Twitter tech stack.”

“Musk said those authorized to work remotely could request to speak with him by video,” according to a CNBC report. “But quixotically he also said, ‘Only those who cannot get to Twitter HQ or have a family emergency are excused.’ ”

We wonder how many of those engineers actually made it to San Francisco, on Friday, with just a few hours’ notice? It’s likely that those who were unable (or didn’t want to) show up, are probably looking for new jobs right about now.

But cleaning house seems to be at the top of his agenda right now. Musk, on Thursday, issued an ultimatum to his employees, saying they would need to commit to his vision for Twitter 2.0 and agree to work “long hours at high intensity or leave.”

So far, more than 110 employees across at least four continents have quit. The departures highlight the reluctance of some of the company’s 3,000 or so employees to remain at a company where Musk already fired half the workforce, to include top management. He’s ruthlessly changing the culture to emphasize long hours and an intense pace.

Considering some employers are still allowing their employees to work from home and have changed the way they conduct business, to put an emphasis on employee care, it would seem that Musk is out of touch when it comes to making employees a priority.

Those who care about preserving a record of their Twitter activity should start their back-ups immediately because right now, the future isn’t so bright for the social media platform. It wouldn’t surprise us if we soon see the “end” of Twitter.