Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has criticised Elon Musk’s leadership of Twitter, stating that he has not proven to be the ideal steward for the platform and should have backed out of buying it. Dorsey’s comments were made in a series of reply posts on Bluesky, a social network that he helped to start, which could become a potential rival to Twitter.
Dorsey previously endorsed Musk’s takeover of Twitter, writing that if Twitter had to be a company at all, “Elon is the singular solution I trust.” However, Dorsey has now stated that he thinks Musk should have paid $1 billion to back out of the deal to acquire the social media platform. He did not believe the company’s board should have forced the sale, and he criticised Musk’s decision-making, adding that “it all went south.”
In early 2022, Musk acquired a substantial stake in Twitter and later took over as CEO in October of the same year. Despite initially accepting a board seat, Musk reneged on the offer and proceeded to launch a hostile takeover bid in April. The board eventually accepted Musk's buyout offer in late April, which involved taking the company private and included a "breakup fee" of $1 billion as a penalty in case Musk backed out of the deal.
Since Musk’s takeover, Twitter has undergone significant changes, including steep job cuts, an intense work environment, and a wholesale overhaul of the site’s user experience. Twitter has increasingly embraced a subscription-based business model and personalized feeds that strive to present users with content that aligns with their interests and preferences. According to multiple reports, Twitter’s staff has been reduced by around 80 per cent under Musk’s tenure.
Dorsey has not taken responsibility for Musk’s acquisition of the company, arguing that “every company is for sale to the highest bidder” and the board had no choice but to accept Musk’s offer. “Was I optimistic? Yes. Did I have the final say? No,” Dorsey said.
Bluesky was conceived by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey as a venture aimed at creating a decentralized social media platform that would not be subject to the control of any single individual or organization. Although Twitter provided funding for Bluesky, it is now an independent entity with its own CEO. In recent times, several prominent Twitter users, who have grown disillusioned with the platform under the leadership of Musk, have begun flocking to Bluesky, propelling its growth.
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