Twitter employees distraught over Musk buyout, too 'in shock to speak': report
The company held a town hall to address employee concerns on Monday
Kudlow: The left is already attacking Elon Musk
FOX Business host Larry Kudlow discusses Elon Musk's Twitter takeover and the various reactions the Tesla CEO has received following the deal.
Twitter employees have reportedly struggled with the news that the company is on the verge of being acquired by Tesla CEO Elon Musk with some of them too "shocked" to speak over the billionaire’s plans to promote freedom of speech.
Several Twitter employees expressed serious concerns and fear over Musk’s $44 billion acquisition of the company including a prominent worry that Musk would undo censorship mechanisms they had worked to implement over the years, The Washington Post reported Monday.
Twitter headquarters is seen in San Francisco, California, on Oct. 27, 2021. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images / Getty Images)
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In reaction to news of the sale, some employees shared tear-filled emojis and memes of emotional breakdowns. In some cases, employees were "too in shock to speak" about the company’s future.
Twitter held an employee town hall on Monday where management reportedly struggled to adequately answer questions about the company’s view on free speech going forward, future layoffs, and whether Twitter will earn revenue from advertising.
A sign outside Twitter headquarters in San Francisco, April 25, 2022. (AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn / AP Newsroom)
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"Totally understand that this is entertainment for some," one Twitter employee tweeted. "But please understand that this is certainly not entertainment for me."
"The news today is so crazy I literally forgot I have COVID," another posted.
The Post added that not every employee it spoke to reacted negatively to the news, including one who expressed "cautious" optimism that Musk would not purchase the company to sink it.
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New York Times reporter Talmon Joseph Smith tweeted that the mood inside Twitter HQ is "absolutely insane" with an internal source telling him, "I feel like im going to throw up..I rly don’t wanna work for a company that is owned by Elon Musk."
Musk’s acquisition of Twitter sparked a firestorm this week with conservatives on social media praising the move in hopes that Musk would curb Twitter censorship and liberals threatening to leave the platform while fretting about the possibility of former President Donald Trump being reinstated.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk (Patrick Pleul/Pool/Getty Images / Getty Images)
"Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated," Musk said in a press release confirming the deal. "I also want to make Twitter better than ever by enhancing the product with new features, making the algorithms open source to increase trust, defeating the spam bots, and authenticating all humans. Twitter has tremendous potential — I look forward to working with the company and the community of users to unlock it."