Elon Musk admitted his controversial redesign of X, formerly known as Twitter, “could fail” in a post on the site.
Musk’s latest statement follows sweeping changes he has made to the social media platform since it was purchased for $44 billion in October 2022.
In February 2023, the South African-born entrepreneur reduced Twitter’s workforce to less than 2,000 – a sharp drop from the 7,500 employees when the billionaire took over.
It then caused consternation among users by getting rid of “legacy” blue checkmarks as part of its decision to change the platform’s verification system.
“Legacy” blue ticks were first assigned to verified accounts belonging to people of public interest, including celebrities, politicians and journalists.
Musk’s latest statement follows sweeping changes he has made to the social media platform since it was purchased for $44 billion in October 2022. Pictured: Elon Musk poses ahead of his talks with French President Emmanuel Macron, on Monday, May 15, 2023 at the Elysée Palais in Paris, France
Posting on Saturday, Musk said, “The sad truth is that there aren’t any big ‘social networks’ right now.” “We could fail, as many predicted, but we will do our best to ensure that there is at least one.” Musk’s latest statement follows sweeping changes he has made to the social media platform since its $44 billion purchase in October 2022
But following Musk’s takeover, only Twitter Blue subscribers can keep a blue tick, while companies now have to pay a gold tick.
The move is part of Musk’s effort to get rid of the so-called “lords and peasants system for who gets or doesn’t get a blue tick.”
Posting on Saturday, Musk said, “The sad truth is that there aren’t any big ‘social networks’ right now.” “We could fail, as many predicted, but we will do our best to ensure that there is at least one.”
Musk admits that X (Twitter) “can fail” and blames the fact that there are “no big ‘social networks’ right now” despite laying off 80% of staff, billing for verification and the name change.
Last Friday, the 52-year-old revealed plans to remove users’ ability to ‘block’ other users from all aspects of the social media site, excluding private ‘direct messages’.
Musk’s comments sparked an outpouring of concern from users of the site, including many subscribers to his $8-a-month, now “X Premium” “Twitter Blue” services, who compared the ” blocking” to “self-defense” and their rights under the 2nd Amendment.
But Twitter co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey welcomed the move, responding ‘100. mute only.’
After seeing the company’s valuation plummet since taking over, Musk is selling more Twitter collectibles in a rebranding auction.
Items available include an oil painting of Ellen DeGeneres’ selfie from the night of the 2014 Oscars. The photo featured DeGeneres alongside stars Bradley Cooper, Meryl Streep and Lupita Nyong’o
Explaining his decision to rebrand from Twitter to X, the billionaire said it was time to “say goodbye” to the old logo. Pictured: A photo of Elon Musk’s account on X, along with the company’s newly rebranded image (file image)
Items including the famous bluebird logo, guitars and an oil painting of Ellen DeGeneres’ selfie from the night of the 2014 Oscars will be available, with deals starting at $25.
He bought Twitter for $44 billion, with the company sitting at a significantly lower $15 billion valuation just six months after its takeover, hence his willingness to hold an auction of items in an effort to to raise much-needed funds.
Musk’s changes to the site saw a number of users migrate to different social media platforms, such as Threads, a new app from Meta.
X threatened to sue Threads, alleging that it had “engaged in a systematic, deliberate, and unlawful misappropriation of Twitter’s trade secrets and other intellectual property” by hiring former Twitter employees.
Explaining his decision to change Twitter’s image to X, the billionaire said it was time to “say goodbye” to the old logo and told a user on his platform: “Twitter has been acquired by X Corp both to guarantee freedom of expression and as an accelerant for X, universal application.’
Promising that Twitter’s name change will be more than just a logo change, but a complete overhaul of the app, he added, “It’s not just a company rebranding itself but doing the same thing. “
