Twitter could go bankrupt, warns chief Elon Musk himself

If new CEO Elon Musk’s claims are anything to go by, all the chaos of the past few days in which he has fired nearly half of Twitter’s staff is to save the company from bankruptcy.

The claim was made in an email sent to all Twitter employees and backed up again in a video conference with subordinates in the company’s leadership circle. In Musk’s view, the fact that Twitter is a loss-making company in times of relative prosperity is a wake-up call in light of worsening global economic conditions. According to the SpaceX chief, Twitter would not survive a global economic crisis without preventative measures to cut costs and streamline the company. Even as its unpopular measures have also driven away some advertising customers, Musk bb argues that Twitter should substantially increase its subscription revenue by introducing new options and services available for a fee.

According to sources cited by Reuters, the company has been cast adrift by massive layoffs and mass departures of department heads, having left positions key to the smooth running of the company’s operations. Among them is Yoel Roth, head of trust and safety.

Roth oversaw Twitter’s response to hate speech, misinformation and spam, and now his Twitter account bio reveals that he is a “former boss” of the company. The chief privacy officer and chief compliance officer are gone, too. One person who has decided to stay at least for now is Robin Wheeler, the company’s chief advertising officer.

The US Federal Trade Commission is watching Twitter with “deep concern” after its privacy and compliance executives left the company. The exits put the social network at risk of violating regulatory orders, but Musk’s lawyer, Alex Spiro, revealed that the team is having “an ongoing constructive dialogue” on the issue.

Meanwhile, Elon Musk’s ambitions to boost the company’s revenue could be further eroded under the onslaught of class-action lawsuits filed by former employees, who now accuse unfair practices and will likely seek substantial damages.