The collapse of Twitter is intensifying this afternoon. New Twitter owner Elon Musk called for an all-hands meeting with employees, where he warned that “bankruptcy is not of the question for the company” and announced a pair of notable executive departures. One of those departures is Yoel Roth, the company’s head of trust and safety.
Musk warns of bankruptcy as Twitter collapse worsens
As reported by Zoe Schiffer, Musk called this afternoon’s all-hands meeting with one hour of notice. It’s unclear what exactly prompted him to do so, but he seemingly felt a need to share some updated details on the collapse of the company.
First, Musk revealed that he “isn’t sure how much run rate” Twitter has at the moment. This essentially means that he’s unsure if Twitter’s financial situation is strong enough to support the company continuing to operate. As such, he told employees that “bankruptcy isn’t out of the question.”
Musk said that the “economic picture ahead is dire” for Twitter and that the company is “too heavily dependent on advertising and vulnerable to pullbacks in brand spending,” according to the New York Times. The company is “running a negative cash flow of several billion dollars,” Musk told employees, saying that he sold Tesla stock to “save” Twitter.
Following that, Musk revealed to employees that two key executives have resigned: Yoel Roth, the company’s head of trust and safety, and Robin Wheeler, vice president of US client solutions.
Roth and Wheeler had both taken on forward-facing roles since Musk officially acquired Twitter two weeks ago. Roth had been sharing regular updates on efforts to moderate Twitter and prevent harassment and other safety and trust concerns. He was doing so, however, with a team that was a shell of its former self after Musk’s mass layoffs.
Wheeler, meanwhile, had been spearheading Twitter’s relationship with advertisers. Advertising is the company’s primary source of revenue, but a number of companies have pulled their ads from Twitter amid the turmoil since Musk’s acquisition.
Roth and Wheeler both moderated a Twitter Space town hall with Musk and advertising partners yesterday. A piece in Bloomberg this morning described Roth and Wheeler as key “senior leaders atop the social network.” Now, they’re both gone.
Kathleen Pacini, head of HR and talent management, is also departing the company.
Meanwhile, Twitter continues to battle the self-inflicted chaos of the new $8 per month “blue check” system. As we covered this morning, people are using the new blue check “don’t-call-it-verification” system to impersonate brands, celebrities, athletes, and more. Despite Musk calling it a “top priority” to battle these troll accounts, Twitter is losing the cat-and-mouse game.
One of the more damming instances of a “fake-but-verified” account going viral emerged this afternoon when an account posing as pharmaceutical giant Eli Lily tweeted that the company would be making insulin free for everyone. The actual Eli Lily account responded around 45 minutes later, apologizing “to those who have been served a misleading message from a fake Lilly account.”
