Elon Musk’s hasty firings show “he’s not really in control of what’s important,” and the threat of bankruptcy is credible, says the former Twitter chairman
Elon Musk will make room for rivals from Twitter Inc. if he breaks with the influential social media company’s “ethos,” former chairman Patrick Pichette has said.
Pichette, who led the board in 2020 and 2021 and remained a director until the sale to Musk was completed in October, told French-language broadcaster Radio-Canada it was “too early to say” whether the Tesla Inc. billionaire would be good for Twitter becomes . But as Twitter becomes a less attractive place for users, others will emerge to compete, Pichette said.
“If Elon Musk breaks the ethos of Twitter with the beauty of the internet, eight more platforms may emerge tomorrow morning,” Quebec-born Pichette said in an interview with business program Zone Economie.
Musk, the world’s richest person, has attempted to completely transform the culture at Twitter since he took control — firing about 50% of employees, ending the company’s remote working policy and telling remaining employees to accept, long “Work hours of “high intensity” or take severance pay.
The company’s new head has even warned of the possibility of bankruptcy if Twitter, which made $5.2 billion in revenue in the 12 months to June, fails to generate more cash.
Pichette, who was Google’s chief financial officer from 2008 to 2015, said it was a credible threat: “It’s a resilient company, but that doesn’t mean it won’t go bankrupt.”
Musk has openly struggled with critics and has drawn controversy with a plan that allowed any user to get a “blue tick” — previously reserved for verified accounts held by notable figures or organizations — for a $8-per-month subscription fee to buy. The scheme spawned a spate of seemingly verified spoof accounts of people posing as corporations, politicians, athletes, and Musk himself.
Musk fired employees so quickly that the company had to recall some because they were needed. “It shows he’s not yet in control of what’s really important on Twitter,” Pichette told Radio-Canada.
Pichette said the board achieved what it set out to do — forcing Musk to fulfill its obligations under the $44 billion acquisition agreement and not backing down in a legal battle when he tried to escape the deal.
“Until Elon Musk bought it and we closed the deal, everything was going as the board hoped it would,” he said. “We had very clear goals and we achieved them.”
Pichette owned 30,860 Twitter shares when Musk bought the company, worth nearly $1.7 million at the acquisition price, according to data from Bloomberg. All of the money will go toward the Kenauk project, Pichette said, which aims to preserve 65,000 acres of woodland in Outaouais, a region in southwest Quebec.
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