The co-founder of Twitter, Jack Dorsey (ASSOCIATED PRESS). |
In November 2021, Jack Dorsey, the co-founder of Twitter, officially stepped down as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company. Although he has left the organization, Dorsey claimed that he still supports and monitors the progress of his brainchild. During an episode of Breaking Points, hosted by Krystall Ball and Saagar Enjeti, Dorsey was invited to share his opinion on the new US presidential candidates, his concerns about AI technology, and Elon Musk's performance on Twitter. Interestingly, when discussing Musk's conduct, Dorsey expressed his heartfelt thoughts. He revealed that he had invited Musk to join Twitter's board in April 2022, and Musk eventually agreed, leading to the acquisition of Twitter.
"Elon is our main user. He was our first consumer. He understands the platform (Twitter) well, he is a technology expert, and he also develops technology," stated Dorsey during the online interview. However, when Musk attempted to acquire the company, going through various legal processes, Dorsey felt that something was amiss. He stated that everything seemed to be deteriorating.
As known, Musk's journey to acquire Twitter was quite tumultuous. It involved lawsuits between Twitter and Musk's lawyers, Musk threatening to withdraw after signing a contract, Musk feeling that Twitter lacked transparency in data sharing, and many more complications. Then, realizing that he would face potential losses in court, Musk suddenly expedited the purchase process. Finally, upon becoming the CEO, Musk laid off thousands of Twitter employees.
"I think when it comes to managing the dynamics of a company, he (Musk) appeared to be in a rush, impatient, and eager to introduce features that weren't thoroughly thought out," revealed Dorsey. Dorsey also expressed that Twitter's actions seemed haphazard, without specifying the exact features. One of the features introduced by Twitter so far is the subscription for the blue badge in Twitter Blue. Additionally, Twitter is reportedly planning to develop live video streaming services and direct products within the application. Musk had previously tested these features on Twitter Spaces. When asked if Musk was the best choice for Twitter's CEO position, Dorsey emphatically answered, as quoted from Business Insider via KompasTekno, "No. Not because I think he has done well after realizing his poor time management. Not even when I invited him to be on the (Twitter) board, leading to the sale. All the processes went downhill."
Nevertheless, Dorsey showed his support for the new CEO of Twitter, Linda Yaccarino. She is the former Head of Advertising and Global Partnerships at NBCUniversal and started working at Twitter on Monday, June 12, 2023. "I have confidence that he (Musk) can find a way out. I am also confident in our new choice for CEO of Twitter. I own three percent of this company, so I will certainly support it," concluded Dorsey.