Elon Musk has faced his fair share of media criticism in recent years over his management style and cost-cutting measures at Twitter, which have seen more than 6,000 staff lose their jobs. During a 90-minute interview with the BBC, he opened up about how this has been “rough” and “hurtful” for him. He said that it was better than living in a world where free speech didn’t exist and that he is thankful for the media’s ability to hold him accountable.
Twitter is a social media company based in San Francisco which was founded in 2006 by Jack Dorsey, Evan Williams, Biz Stone and Noah Glass. In July 2020, Venture capital investor, Paul Muller and Elon Musk took control of the company. The platform has seen a rapid rise in popularity since its establishment, now boasting over 330 million monthly active users.
Elon Musk is a South African-born American business magnate, engineer, and investor who is behind such brands as Tesla, SpaceX, and Neuralink. He is the founder, CEO, and chief engineer/designer of SpaceX and the 4th richest person in the world with an estimated net worth of $177.4 billion. He is passionate about creating sustainable energy solutions and has ambitious plans to revolutionize the car industry through Tesla and establish a human settlement on Mars with SpaceX.
Though some may perceive Musk’s cost-cutting measures as insensitive, the billionaire claims that layoffs were necessary to save the company from bankruptcy. Without them, Twitter’s negative cash flow was projected to be a whopping $3 billion this year. Employees have also spoken of their dissatisfaction with Musk’s lack of communication when it comes to the cuts, and with other cost-cutting measures, such as not renewing contracts with facilities maintenance staff.
The issue of free speech was also addressed in this interview, and Elon Musk claimed that it was impossible to eliminate all mistakes online and still keep freedom of speech intact. He also disagreed with the idea of banning slight sexist comments in the name of preventing fake news. James Clayton, the BBC’s technology correspondent, brought up that he had seen more such of posts since Musk’s takeover of Twitter.
Ultimately, Elon Musk insists that he is not a “horrible person” and he is grateful for the freedom of speech which allows for the media to criticism him and hold him accountable. He has been a leading innovator of his time and his endeavors have made a positive impact on the humanity. Although his comments can be controversial, many would agree that his passion, success and ambition are inspiring.
