Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Musk Says Twitter in Precarious Position, Defends Cost Cuts
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 2 years ago on
December 21, 2022

Share

Elon Musk is defending his massive cost-cutting at Twitter as necessary for the social media platform to survive next year, due in part to debt payments tied to his $44 billion takeover of the company.

“This company is like, basically, you’re in a plane that is headed towards the ground at high speed with the engines on fire and the controls don’t work,” Musk told a late-night audience on a Twitter Spaces call Tuesday.

That’s after Elon Musk said earlier on Tuesday that he plans on remaining as Twitter’s CEO until he can find someone willing to replace him in the job.

Musk’s announcement came after millions of Twitter users asked him to step down in an online poll the billionaire himself created and promised to abide by.

“I will resign as CEO as soon as I find someone foolish enough to take the job!” Musk tweeted. “After that, I will just run the software & servers teams.”

Since taking over the San Francisco social media platform in late October, Musk’s run as CEO has been marked by quickly issued rules and policies that have often been withdrawn or changed soon after being made public.

Musk said Tuesday night that he “spent the last five weeks cutting costs like crazy” and trying to build a stronger paid subscription service because otherwise Twitter might be operating with $3 billion in negative cash flow next year. He in part blamed the $12.5 billion in debt tied to his April agreement to buy the company, as well as the Federal Reserve’s recent interest rate hikes.

Some of Musk’s actions have unnerved Twitter advertisers and turned off users. He has laid off more than half of Twitter’s workforce, released contract content moderators and disbanded a council of trust and safety advisors that the company formed in 2016 to address hate speech and other problems on the platform.

The Tesla CEO has also alienated investors at his electric vehicle company over concerns that Twitter is taking too much of his attention, and possibly offending loyal customers.

Even more unnerving for investors, Tesla shares are plummeting.

Shares of Tesla are down 35% since Musk took over Twitter on Oct. 27, costing investors billions. Tesla’s market value was over $1.1 trillion on April 1, the last trading day before Musk disclosed he was buying up Twitter shares. The company has since lost 58% of its value, at a time when rival auto makers are cutting in on Tesla’s dominant share of electric vehicle sales.

Shares fell Wednesday, as they have every day this week.

A single share of Tesla that cost about $400 to start the year, can now be had for less than $140.

Musk sought to defend some of his recent Twitter decisions on the Twitter Spaces call.

“They may seem sometimes spurious or odd or whatever,” Musk said. “It’s because we have an emergency fire drill on our hands. That’s the reason. Not because I’m naturally capricious. Or at least, aspirationally, I’m not naturally capricious.”

Musk, who also helms the SpaceX rocket company, has previously acknowledged how difficult it will be to find someone to take over as Twitter CEO.

Bantering with Twitter followers earlier this week, he said that the person replacing him “must like pain a lot” to run a company that he said has been “in the fast lane to bankruptcy.”

“No one wants the job who can actually keep Twitter alive. There is no successor,” Musk tweeted.

As things stand, Musk would still retain overwhelming influence over platform as its owner. He fired the company’s board of directors soon after taking control.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Fresno County DA Wants Teens Tried as Adults in Caleb Quick Murder

DON'T MISS

State Farm Wins First-Ever Emergency Rate Hike in California

DON'T MISS

Work Permits Reinstated for UC Merced International Students, Anxiety Persists

DON'T MISS

Tatum to Miss Remainder of Playoffs After Achilles Tendon Surgery

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police Seek Public’s Help Identifying Shooting Suspect

DON'T MISS

MLB Reinstates Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson, Making Them Hall of Fame Eligible

DON'T MISS

Karbassi Running for Fresno County Elections Clerk, Says He Can ‘Do Better’

DON'T MISS

Global Eggs Completes Acquisition in US, Closes New Deal in Europe

DON'T MISS

‘I Never Said He Called My Son the N-Word.’ Fresno Unified Trustee Thomas Tries to Erase Accusation Against Former Bullard Coach

DON'T MISS

UnitedHealth Group CEO Steps Down as Company Lowers, Then Withdraws Financial Outlook for 2025

UP NEXT

UnitedHealth Group CEO Steps Down as Company Lowers, Then Withdraws Financial Outlook for 2025

UP NEXT

Young People Drive Fresno to CA’s Top Job Growth: Wells Fargo Study

UP NEXT

Fresno’s New Economic Development Leader Has Boomtown Expertise

UP NEXT

US Car Prices Higher in April After Tariffs Hit

UP NEXT

The TikTok Effect: Viral Videos Create the Next Travel Hotspots

UP NEXT

US-China Tariff Talks to Continue Sunday, an Official Tells The Associated Press

UP NEXT

Tariff Talks Begin Between US and Chinese Officials in Geneva

UP NEXT

Wall Street Drifts as It Waits for a Highly Anticipated US-China Meeting on Trade

UP NEXT

Panasonic to Cut 10,000 Jobs, Expects $900 Million in Restructuring Costs

UP NEXT

US Postal Service Reports $3.3 Billion Quarterly Net Loss

Tatum to Miss Remainder of Playoffs After Achilles Tendon Surgery

1 hour ago

Fresno Police Seek Public’s Help Identifying Shooting Suspect

1 hour ago

MLB Reinstates Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson, Making Them Hall of Fame Eligible

1 hour ago

Karbassi Running for Fresno County Elections Clerk, Says He Can ‘Do Better’

2 hours ago

Global Eggs Completes Acquisition in US, Closes New Deal in Europe

4 hours ago

‘I Never Said He Called My Son the N-Word.’ Fresno Unified Trustee Thomas Tries to Erase Accusation Against Former Bullard Coach

5 hours ago

UnitedHealth Group CEO Steps Down as Company Lowers, Then Withdraws Financial Outlook for 2025

5 hours ago

FDA and RFK Jr. Aim to Remove Ingestible Fluoride Products Used to Protect Kids’ Teeth

5 hours ago

Caltrans’ Response to Homeless Encampments Is Lagging, Cities Complain

5 hours ago

Democrats Seeking California Governorship Strut Their Stuff for Union Leaders

6 hours ago

Fresno County DA Wants Teens Tried as Adults in Caleb Quick Murder

The Fresno County District Attorney’s Office said Tuesday it will seek to have two 16-year-olds charged in the killing of Caleb Quick prosec...

16 minutes ago

https://www.communitymedical.org/thecause?utm_source=Misfit+Digital&utm_medium=GVWire+Banner+Ads&utm_campaign=Branding+2025&utm_content=thecause
Fresno clovis caleb quick
16 minutes ago

Fresno County DA Wants Teens Tried as Adults in Caleb Quick Murder

19 minutes ago

State Farm Wins First-Ever Emergency Rate Hike in California

1 hour ago

Work Permits Reinstated for UC Merced International Students, Anxiety Persists

1 hour ago

Tatum to Miss Remainder of Playoffs After Achilles Tendon Surgery

Fresno police are seeking help identifying a suspect caught on video after a shooting near First Street and Belmont Avenue left one person injured on Sunday. May 11, 2025. (Fresno PD)
1 hour ago

Fresno Police Seek Public’s Help Identifying Shooting Suspect

1 hour ago

MLB Reinstates Pete Rose and Shoeless Joe Jackson, Making Them Hall of Fame Eligible

2 hours ago

Karbassi Running for Fresno County Elections Clerk, Says He Can ‘Do Better’

Eggs are displayed at a supermarket in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., April 13, 2022. Picture taken April 13, 2022. REUTERS/Jim Vondruska/File Photo
4 hours ago

Global Eggs Completes Acquisition in US, Closes New Deal in Europe

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend