Elon Musk, the CEO of Twitter, admitted to facing several challenges since he purchased the social media platform for $44 billion six months ago, and acknowledged “many mistakes” made along the way.
The second richest man in the world made the admission during a live interview with the BBC,
Musk specifically mentioned Twitter’s decision to label the BBC’s account “government-funded media”, which he said he would change to “publicly funded” after the broadcaster objected.
Musk also discussed Twitter’s upcoming policy requiring legacy verified accounts to pay for Twitter Blue, stating that he wants the platform to treat everyone equally and not boost a select group of journalists.
The Tesla boss also revealed that he reduced Twitter’s workforce by over 6,000 people since acquiring the company, leaving only around 1,500 employees. Musk acknowledged that these layoffs were not easy and could be painful, but claimed that they were necessary due to Twitter’s dire financial situation when he took over.
Musk estimated that the company had a negative cash flow of $3 billion and only four months to live, which required him to take “drastic action.”
Despite the challenges, Musk stated that the company was now “roughly breaking even” with the return of advertisers.