Verified Twitter users complain they can’t change name
Users complain to Musk after Twitter disables name changes on legacy verified accounts. A user called Count Dankula pleads for help after his name gets stuck after what he thought was a temporary change to “GIANT PENIS (parody)”:
Hello Elon, you seem to have disabled name changes. I was wondering when that would be getting turned back on as I appear to have gotten myself into a bit of a situation.
This is not a drill any time you try it just says DENY and doesn’t let you change it. I am literally stuck as GIANT PENIS this is not the future I imagined for myself Elon pls.
This is not a drill any time you try it just says DENY and doesn't let you change it. I am literally stuck as GIANT PENIS this is not the future I imagined for myself Elon pls. pic.twitter.com/rfWNxNiE0R
— Count Dankula (@CountDankulaTV) November 11, 2022
Twitter suspends Blue after impersonations
After reports of multiple impersonations of major brands and politiciansaccounts, Twitter suspends it’s Twitter Blue $8 verification process. An account impersonating Nintendo tweeted an image of the Super Mario character holding up a middle finger. One posing as Eli Lilly & Co. tweeted that insulin was now free, forcing the company’s official account to say:
We apologize to those who have been served a misleading message from a fake Lilly account
An internal Twitter memo confirmed the change:
An update on what we did tonight: hid the entry point to Twitter Blue, added the ‘official’ label for ONLY advertisers. Note: here is at least one way for users to sign up for Blue. Legacy Blue users can go to subscriptions and upgrade.
In an email to staff, Musk wrote:
Over the next few days, the absolute top priority is finding and suspending any verified bots/trolls/spam
Yoel Roth, the company’s head of trust and safety also resigned
Peterson: It would be a catastrophe to see Musk derailed
On Piers Morgan Uncensored, Peterson say he supports Elon Musk’s efforts to improve Twitter.
Well, I know people who know him very well and have worked with him very closely. These are very solid people, extremely competent and extremely creative. And they’re admirers of Musk. I talked with my brother-in-law Jim Keller, who is one of the word’s great chip engineeers, and he worked very closely with Musk for years. He believes that he is, in many ways, exactly what you think he was: He’s a genius, a visionary genius. But he’s also someone who is very, very good at implementing, very good at running companies, as you can tell because he has a multitude of impossible, succesful companies. So he goes into a company and he cleans house and puts things in order and makes things work efficiently. Maybe he can do that at Twitter. I hope he can, because Musk is doing all sorts of things that are useful and difficult and it would be a catstrophe to see him derailed.
"It would be a catastrophe to see him derailed."
Jordan Peterson says he hopes Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter will be a success.@elonmusk | @jordanbpeterson | @piersmorgan | @TalkTV | #PMU pic.twitter.com/XdBFyv75Sc
— Piers Morgan Uncensored (@PiersUncensored) November 10, 2022
Crypto company builds 30ft ‘Musk goat rocket’
A cryptocurrency company creates a 30-foot long monument to Musk, showing him as a goat riding on a rocket. The art took 700 hours to build and is worth an estimated $600k. The 5’9″ tall aluminium head of the statue was built by Canadian metal sculptors Kevin and Michelle Stone. The cryptocurrency firm Elon GOAT Token ($EGT) plan to present the monument to Musk in Austin, TX, on Nov 26. Company spokesperson:
We built Elon Musk a $600,000 monument on the back of a semi trailer in honour of his many accomplishments and commitment to Cryptocurrency. Most people thought we would never do it, but after one year of building the time has come to bring it home to Elon. Really we just want to meet the guy and give it to him. After all, he is the most innovative human alive, hence the GOAT – Greatest Of All Time.
Musk kills ‘official’ grey checkmark
After grey checkmarks that had been rolled out to indicate ‘official’ accounts on Twitter started to disappear, Musk says:
I just killed it. Blue check will be the great leveler
I just killed it
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 9, 2022
Later, Musk says:
Please note that Twitter will do lots of dumb things in coming months. We will keep what works & change what doesn’t.
Please note that Twitter will do lots of dumb things in coming months.
We will keep what works & change what doesn’t.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 9, 2022
Musk sells $3.95 billion of Tesla stock
Regulatory filings show Musk sold nearly $4 billion worth of Tesla shares, bringing his total sold since April to $19 billion. He sold $7 billion in August. These three most recent blocks of Tesla stock sales represent only 4% of the shares that Musk owns outright through a trust, and less than 3% of his holdings if options that he has to buy additional shares are included.
Musk’s filings did not disclose the reason for those earlier stock sales. But after someone on Twitter asked him if he was done selling Tesla shares, he responded “Yes” and then pointed to the possibility of being forced to buy Twitter as the reason for those sales. Shares of Tesla are down almost 50% this year.
Biden: Musk’s foreign ties ‘worthy of being looked at’
At a news conference at the White House, when Biden is asked if Musk is a ‘threat to national security’ and whether his acquisition of Twitter with the help of foreign governments, notably Saudi Arabia, should be investigated, the President says:
I think that Elon Musk’s cooperation and/or technical relationships with other countries is worthy of being looked at. Whether or not he is doing anything inappropriate — I’m not suggesting that — I’m suggesting it’s worth being looked at. And that’s all I’ll say.
Recently, Musk has given opinions on the Russia-Ukraine war and China-Taiwan relations, while Senator Chris Murphy has called for an investigation into the national security implications of Saudi Arabia’s stake in Twitter.
Musk: Twitter usage at an all-time high
Musk says Twitter’s usage is at an all -time high:
Twitter usage is at an all-time high lol, I just hope the servers don’t melt!
I just hope the servers don’t melt!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 8, 2022
He later posts two charts that show Twitter’s mDAU (number of monetizable daily active users) at over 255 million glabal users, of which over 45 million are in the United States.
Musk says he voted Democrat until this year
After urging ‘independent-minded ‘ voters to vote Republican, Musk says that his party affilation is Independent, but that he has actually voted for Democrats until this year, and says that he is open to the idea of voting Democrat again.
To be clear, my historical party affiliation has been Independent, with an actual voting history of entirely Democrat until this year
And I’m open to the idea of voting Democrat again in the future
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 7, 2022
Goldberg leaves Twitter
Goldberg announces she is leaving Twitter.
To everyone, thanks for everything! Until we meet again! Love, Whoop.
She elaborates on The View, listing Musk’s introduction of the $8 blue check fee, the mass layoffs, and the recent banning of Kathy Griffin for breaking the site’s impersonation rules.
I’m getting off today because I just feel like it’s so messy, and I’m tired of now having certain kinds of attitudes blocked now getting back on. So I’m gonna get out, and if it settles down enough and I feel more comfortable maybe I’ll come back. But as of tonight, I’m done with Twitter…People keep saying it’s free speech, but all speech is not free speech. Some speech is not okay free speech. So everybody has to agree on that, but if people keep saying ‘You hurt my free speech’ it’s going to be a problem. You know what? This is our problem. But it ain’t my problem today because I’m out.
She says she may return later:
I’m going to get out, and if it settles down and I feel more comfortable, maybe I’ll come back.
.@WhoopiGoldberg says on #TheView that "as of tonight," she's "done with Twitter."
"I'm going to get out, and if it settles down and I feel more comfortable, maybe I'll come back." https://t.co/cVclFZQmjA pic.twitter.com/0Ih9fp9yHG
— The View (@TheView) November 7, 2022
Musk: ‘Independent-minded’ voters should vote for a Republican Congress
Musk says ‘independent-minded’ voters should vote for a Republican Congress, to balance ‘the worst exceses of both parties’;
To independent-minded voters: Shared power curbs the worst excesses of both parties, therefore I recommend voting for a Republican Congress, given that the Presidency is Democratic.
To independent-minded voters:
Shared power curbs the worst excesses of both parties, therefore I recommend voting for a Republican Congress, given that the Presidency is Democratic.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 7, 2022
Musk says hardcore Democrats or Republicans never vote for the other side, so independent voters are the ones who actually decide who’s in charge. Musk previously said he would vote for Republicans but that he backs moderates of both major political parties.
Like most people in America, I agree with some of the Democrat and some of the Republican policies, but not all. However, if executive and legislative branches are dominated by *one* party, then we lose balance of power.
Like most people in America, I agree with some of the Democrat and some of the Republican policies, but not all.
However, if executive and legislative branches are dominated by *one* party, then we lose balance of power.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 7, 2022
Musk lets jet tracker stay on Twitter, despite ‘risk’
Musk says he will not ban a Twitter account that tracks his private jet, even though its information affects his personal safety
My commitment to free speech extends even to not banning the account following my plane, even though that is a direct personal safety risk
The owner of the @ElonJet account, Jack Sweeney, replies:
Thank you backing your commitment to free speech. Overwhelmingly the followers of my account are supporters and admirers of your endeavors. Which was my motivation for creating @ElonJet
https://twitter.com/ElonJet/status/1589419007954022400
Twitter bans Griffin for impersonating Musk
After Musk announced an immediate ban on accounts pretending to be someone else without flagging them as parodies…
Going forward, any Twitter handles engaging in impersonation without clearly specifying “parody” will be permanently suspended.
Going forward, any Twitter handles engaging in impersonation without clearly specifying “parody” will be permanently suspended
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 6, 2022
…the company banned Griffin, who had tweeted about the midterm elections under Musk’s name. Musk said Griffin had been removed for “impersonating a comedian” but could have her account back for $8.
But if she really wants her account back, she can have it
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 7, 2022
Griffin responded on Mastodon, a rival network:
I guess not ALL the content moderators were let go? Lol
Twitter fires 50% of staff by email
Twitter begins laying off up to 50% of its workforce, sending a mail titled Your Role at Twitter to the personal emails of laid-off employees.
Today is your last working day at the company.
Those laid off will remain employed by Twitter and receive compensation and benefits until the first week of January 2023, though the date may vary. Affected employees are locked out of their Twitter systems, such as email and Slack, and have been told that they will receive their non-negotiable severance offer within the week, when they are required to hand in their badges and company laptops or computers. In other emails the company acknowledges the impact of the layoffs:
We recognize that this will impact a number of individuals who have made valuable contributions to Twitter, but this action is unfortunately necessary to ensure the company’s success moving forward.
Musk: Anti-Twitter activists ‘destroying free speech in America’
Musk says Twitter revenues have dropped massively, as activist groups pressure advertisers. He says this is despite there being no change to Twitter’s moderation rules
Twitter has had a massive drop in revenue, due to activist groups pressuring advertisers, even though nothing has changed with content moderation and we did everything we could to appease the activists.
He claims that despite ‘appeasing’ activists, they are trying to ‘destroy free speech’:
Extremely messed up! They’re trying to destroy free speech in America.
Twitter has had a massive drop in revenue, due to activist groups pressuring advertisers, even though nothing has changed with content moderation and we did everything we could to appease the activists.
Extremely messed up! They’re trying to destroy free speech in America.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 4, 2022
Musk wants $1 billion Twitter infrastructure cut
To stem loses of $3 million per day, Musk asks Twitter’s teams until November 7 to find up to $1 billion in annual infrastructure cost savings. Internal company messages titled, ‘Deep Cuts Plan’, ask for between $1.5 and $3 million per day savings from servers and cloud services. Critics say the cuts could cause outages duing times of high demand. Source:
[Musk] is willing to introduce that risk to meet these goals
Some employesss ordered to work in the office every day of the week to meet the deadline.
Musk: Twitter is a ‘collective, cybernetic super-intelligence’
Musk compares Twitter to a super-intelligent organism:
Because it consists of billions of bidirectional interactions per day, Twitter can be thought of as a collective, cybernetic super-intelligence…… with a lot of room for improvement
Followed up with:
A neuron doesn’t realize it’s a neuron
… with a lot of room for improvement
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 3, 2022
Twitter to charge for verification from next week. Edit function given to all for free.
Twitter will start selling blue verification badges for user profiles as soon as next week, part of a plan by Musk to fight fake accounts and increase profits. Verification will cost $8 a month. Twitter also plans to make the edit function, which is currently available through a $5-a-month Twitter Blue subscription, available to all users for free, also starting next week.
Musk to cut 3700 Twitter jobs, 50% of workforce
Elon Musk plans to eliminate about 3,700 jobs at Twitter, half the company’s workforce, in a bid to drive down costs following his $44 billion acquisition. Musk will inform the affected staff members on Friday, November 4. Senior personnel on product teams have been asked to target a 50% headcount reduction, with layoffs based on each employee’s contributions to coding. Musk is also reportedly considering reversing a work-from-anywhere policy and will require employees to work from office with few exceptions.
Musk jokes it will cost $8 to complain about Twitter
Musk says that it will cost $8 to complain about Twitter. He says he stole the idea from Monty Python sketch, called The Argument,
To all complainers, please continue complaining, but it will cost $8
Totally stole idea of charging for insults & arguments from Monty Python tbh https://t.co/oFKRyp3BS7
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 2, 2022