- Elon Musk describes the acquisition of Twitter as “very painful” in an interview with the BBC.
- Musk complains about the constant attacks and criticism he receives on Twitter and how the media portray him in some articles, although he also acknowledges the importance of press freedom.
- Musk reveals that Twitter currently has 1,500 employees and is close to breaking even, with the possibility of achieving positive cash flow this quarter.
Elon Musk called the acquisition of Twitter “very painful” in a surprise interview with the British channel BBC.
The billionaire discussed that and much more with BBC North America technology reporter James Clayton at Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters.
When asked about his comments that Twitter was “a sore problem,” Musk acknowledged that it was still that way.
“I have been under constant attack,” Musk added. And he explained how he receives criticism: “It is important to receive negative feedback. I don’t disable replies on Twitter and I don’t block anyone on the network. So I get a lot of negative feedback.”
He also complained about the media and how they describe him in some articles. “If the media writes stories about why you’re a horrible person, I mean, you know, obviously it’s painful.” Musk added.
When Clayton asked if Musk had a “weird” relationship with the media, Musk conceded that he did. It’s kind of like a love-hate relationship. although it could be a little more towards hate. This is part of having a free press scenario. I like the fact that the media can regularly criticize me in the US and UK. Whereas in many other places they can’t say bad things to powerful people.”
Musk to the BBC: verification badges
Regarding the removal of verification badges from some users, such as the one from the New York Times, Musk said: “I loved removing the verification badge from the New York Times; anyway, they are doing very well.”
After the interview with the BBC, Musk answered questions via Twitter Spaces.
In relation to employees, Musk revealed that he currently has 1,500 workers and that he had “almost 8,000” when he took control.
In this sense, Musk said that the financial situation of the company is “almost break even” and that most of the platform’s advertising advertisers returned.
For the mogul, aggressive efforts to cut costs are paying off.
The businessman also said that when he arrived, Twitter had a negative cash flow of $3 billion and that, for that reason, he was forced to take measures that were not popular.
In addition, he told the BBC that the company “It could be cash flow positive this quarter, if all goes well, as we expect.”
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