SVE NEWS & BBC.COM Sharing Series — Owning Twitter has been quite painful – Musk tells BBC

Summary

Elon Musk, boss of Twitter and CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, gives an interview to the BBC

Musk agreed unexpectedly to the last-minute conversation with our correspondent James Clayton at Twitter HQ this evening

The billionaire admits he only bought Twitter because he had to, and describes running the firm as “quite painful” and “a rollercoaster”

The BBC objected this week to a new tag describing it as “government funded media” on its main Twitter account

Musk says Twitter’s aim is to be transparent and honest but agrees the tag can, and will, be updated.

Musk said earlier he believed the BBC was one of the “least biased” outlets

Interview still going on… kind of

13:02
When the interviewee doesn’t leave the interview…
Our correspondent has tweeted his perspective. Musk is continuing the chat on Twitter, taking questions from the about three million people following the chat on Twitter spaces.

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Posted at 12:5812:58
Elonjet account was doxing – Musk
Our technology correspondent asks about doxing – the release of private information about individuals online, usually with malicious intent – and whether the banning of the Twitter account Elonjet, which tracked Musk’s private jet’s movements, constituted overly favourable behaviour towards Musk.

Musk responds that the account was using non-public information combined with public information to track his movements, and this arguably constituted doxing.

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Posted at 12:5412:54
Wide range of questions
Musk took questions from a wide variety of people listening into the conversation.

The first came from a producer with the far-right network Newsmax. Alex Lorusso asked whether there could be benefits for long-time Twitter Blue subscribers.

Musk then took a question from a cryptocurrency designer who made a crude joke – something of a pattern in this discussion.

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Posted at 12:4912:49
Musk dismisses legacy media who won’t pay for blue ticks
Earlier our correspondent asked Musk about media like the New York Times losing blue tick verification because they refused on principle to pay for it.

“It’s a small amount of money, so I don’t know what their problem is,” Musk said. “We’re going to treat everyone equally.”

He then goes on to say he doesn’t want Twiter to further boost “some anointed class of journalists” who determine what constitutes news.

“So I’m hopeful that this can be more a case of the public choosing the narrative, as opposed to the media choosing the narrative.”

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Posted at 12:4912:49
No system is going to be perfect, Musk admits
Musk says Twitter’s goal is to be the “most accurate” platform that it can be, when asked again about the lack of policing on the platform.

“No system is going to be perfect,” he concedes, but insists it’s his mission for Twitter to be as truthful as possible.

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Posted at 12:4812:48
Musk opens the interview up to listeners
The Twitter Spaces platform allows for up to 13 people to participate and ask questions.

Musk is now taking questions from users asking questions. The first has been about verification and blue tick labelling.

 

Posted at 12:4012:40
One Twitter building should become a homeless shelter – Musk
Musk says he would like to turn one of Twitter’s building’s in San Francisco into a homeless shelter, but the building owner won’t allow it.

“We would like to do it right now,” he says, adding that one of two buildings is not in use.

 

Posted at 12:3912:39
I think I should not tweet after 3 AM – Musk
Our correspondent brings up some of Musk’s controversial tweets in the past – something the Twitter CEO acknowledges.

“Have I shot myself in the foot with tweets multiple times? Yes.”

“I think I should not tweet after 3 AM,” Musk adds, before trying to ask our correspondent a series of questions he says he’s getting from his Twitter feed.

 

Posted at 12:3712:37
BREAKING
We had 8,000 staff members, now we have 1,500 – Musk
Musk is asked about how many people he’s sacked since buying Twitter.

He says when he bought the company there were “just under 8,000” staff members, and now there are “1,500”.

Asked if it’s hard to fire that many people, Musk says it’s “not fun at all” and can, at times, be “painful”.

He also admits he doesn’t fire everyone in person

“It’s not possible to talk with that many people face to face,” Musk says.

 

Posted at 12:3312:33
That sinkin’ feeling
Musk’s sense of humour can be quirky to say the least.

Famously, when he took over Twitter in October, he tweeted “Entering Twitter HQ – let that sink in” with a picture of him carrying in a… bathroom sink.

This screen grab shows the Twitter account of billionaire Tesla chief Elon Musk on October 27, 2022 with the profile “Chief Twit”.
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

Posted at 12:3112:31
I wouldn’t sell Twitter for same amount I bought it – Musk
Musk is asked, if someone offered him $44bn right now, would he sell Twitter?

He says no, but then clarifies that he would if he could be sure that the buyer was as committed to telling the truth as he says he is.

Musk bought Twitter for a reported £44bn last year.

Pushed on why he said he’d stand down, Musk says he has and his dog is now Twitter’s CEO. He laughs again at this point.

 

 

Posted at 12:2812:28
BREAKING
Legacy blue ticks will be gone by next week – Musk
Our correspondent next asks about the issue of legacy verified blue ticks on Twitter, and whether they will all be removed from accounts by next week?

Musk says they will all be gone by next week.

Any social media company that doesn’t have paid-for verification will likely incur issues with things like AI, he claims, justifying the move.

 

Posted at 12:2712:27
The media trashes me on a regular basis – Musk
Elon Musk
BBCCopyright: BBC
Musk is now being grilled about the “emotional strain” of buying Twitter, to which he says the media writing such personal stuff about him is “hurtful”.

He admits he has an “odd” relationship with the media, describing it as “love-hate, perhaps more hate”. He laughs again at this point.

“The media is able to trash me on a regular basis in the US and the UK,” he says, adding that in some countries “the media can’t say mean things about powerful people”.

He quickly follows this up by saying he think it’s good to have a free press, in which he and other “powerful people” can be written about in such a way.

 

Posted at 12:2712:27
All’s well that ends well, Twitter’s new boss says
Our correspondent asks if Musk has any regrets over buying Twitter. Musk says the “pain level has been extremely high, this hasn’t been some kind of party”.

He adds that it has been “really quite a stressful situation over the last several months” but adds that buying the company was the right thing to do.

“Were there many mistakes made a long the way? Of course. But all’s well that ends well, I feel like we’re headed to a good place.”

 

Posted at 12:2612:26
Advertisers are returning to Twitter – Musk
Musk is asked about advertisers who’ve left Twitter since he took over.

He suggests they’ve all either now come back or have said they will but doesn’t name any specifically.

Those to leave the platform last year included the likes of Volkswagen and General Motors.

We’ve not yet been able to verify the claims being made by Musk, including whether advertisers are returning to Twitter.

 

Posted at 12:2312:23
I’m generally against banning things – Musk on TikTok
Our correspondent asks Musk about US moves to ban Chinese app TikTok because of national security concerns.

To begin with, Musk says he doesn’t use TikTok – the most downloaded app of the past two years.

He also takes a realistic perspective on a ban if it were to come through.

“I’m generally against banning things.I mean, it would help Twitter I suppose if TikTok was banned, because then people would spend more time on Twitter and less on TikTok.

“But even though that would help Twitter, I would be generally against banning of things.”

 

Posted at 12:2012:20
My dog is the CEO of Twitter – Musk
It’s safe to say there’s some tension between Musk and our correspondent, with the Twitter boss saying he’s interviewing our correspondent as much as the other way around.

In the middle of questioning, Musk stops James Clayton to remind him that he’s “no longer the CEO of Twitter”.

When asked who is, Musk says names his pet dog Floki, a Shiba Inu.

 

Posted at 12:1912:19
Musk’s expanding operation in China
As well as owning Twitter, Elon Musk is the chief executive of electric car maker Tesla.

This week, the company announced that it would build a new factory in China to make its large-scale batteries.

The plant in Shanghai will be able to produce 10,000 of its “Megapack” energy storage units a year, the firm said.

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Posted at 12:1812:18
Covid is no longer an issue – Musk
Clayton asks about changes to Twitter’s Covid misinformation labels.

There used to be a policy where posts would be accompanied by possible misinformation warnings if the content related to Covid. Why change that? our correspondent asks.

Musk replies: “Covid is no longer an issue” before pivoting and asking our interviewer himself about BBC content, Clayton responds by stating that he is not a representative of the BBC and that this is not an interview about the BBC.

 

Posted at 12:1412:14
Musk challenges accusation on Twitter misinformation
Musk is pushed on whether Twitter is being policed properly – and if not how that might leave the site open to spreading misinformation.

He and our correspondent go back and forth over hate speech and Musk asks “Who’s to say what’s right and wrong?”

Our correspondent says since Musk has taken over, there’s been more “hateful content” on Twitter, to which Musk challenges him and asks for an example.

He says if an example can’t be given, the accusation must be “false”.

“I’m asking for a single example and you can’t name one,” Musk tells our correspondent, who’s said he – and others – feel the site is not as safe as it once was.

Sources from: BBC.COM