Media

‘Trust Is As Trust Does:’ Elon Musk Addresses Twitter Employees In First Meeting

(Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

Sarah Wilder Social Issues Reporter
Font Size:

Tesla CEO Elon Musk addressed Twitter employees in the midst of a $44 billion takeover of the platform in a virtual meeting Thursday.

In a since-deleted tweet from Nola Weinstein, Twitter’s global head of brand experiences and engagement, quoted Musk saying, “Trust is as trust does. I tend to be extremely literal in what I say…One does not (need) to read between the lines. One can simply read the lines,” the Associated Press (AP) reported.

During the meeting, which lasted about an hour, Musk discussed his vision for the company, rumors of possible layoffs, Chinese apps and more, according to The New York Times (NYT). Employees could submit questions for Musk ahead of time.

“Right now, costs exceed revenue,” Musk said when asked about layoffs at the company. “That’s not a great situation.” (RELATED: ‘Civilization Serialized’: Musk Laments Declining US Birth Rate, Claims Humanity Will ‘Cease To Exist’)

Musk also expressed his goal for the company to reach 1 billion users, almost four times what its current user base is, according to the AP.

Musk has stated in the past his goal of “authenticating all humans” on the app. In the meeting, Musk reiterated that this did not mean he would require every user to post under his or her own name, since pseudonyms are often necessary for people to be forthright about their political views, according to NYT.

At the end of the meeting, Musk agreed to hold another meeting at a later date, the outlet noted.

The meeting is the first time Musk has met with employees at Twitter since he struck a $44 billion deal to buy the company. Recently, Musk has accused Twitter of not being forthright concerning what percentage of their users are bots, saying that until there is transparency on the issue, “this deal cannot move forward.”