Elon Musk spoke with Twitter staff for the first time on June 16 after reaching an agreement to buy the firm in April, concentrating on “freedom of speech” in an online address.
In April, the billionaire had announced his intention to buy Twitter for $44 billion but has since been critical of the firm, threatening to put the sale on hold due to concerns over bots, or phony accounts, that exist on the platform.
According to the New York Times, Musk set high objectives for Twitter during the call, stating that the count will increase from 229 million users to one billion users around the world. That’s approximately four times the number of people who use it now.
He has also taken aim at Twitter’s work-from-home policy, calling for the company’s headquarters to be turned into a “homeless refuge” because so few people actually worked there. The remark was also barely a veiled dig at San Francisco, which has a significant homeless population.
In accordance with the New York Times, Musk did little to allay fears about layoffs at Twitter, refusing to directly answer queries about possible restructuring and noting that “right now, costs outweigh income — that’s not a nice situation.”
When he declared he wanted to “verify all humans” on the service, the millionaire businessman caused a stir. He explained at the meeting that this does not mean he wants everyone on Twitter to use their true names, as he does on Facebook because pseudonyms can allow people to openly express their political ideas.
Twitter’s chief executive, Parag Agrawal has also mentioned to his employees about all-hands meetings via email. Employees will be able to submit questions to Musk in advance.