Elon Musk Backtracks, Says Disabled Man He Fired Publicly Will Consider Staying At Twitter
Elon Musk on Tuesday publicly firedHalli Thorliefsson,a disabled Icelandic entrepreneurwho started a design company, Ueno, thatTwitterhad acquired several years ago.
But less than 24 hours later, Musk backtracked and announced on Twitter that Thorlieffson is considering remaining an employee.
"I would like to apologize to Halli for my misunderstanding of his situation. It was based on things I was told that were untrue or, in some cases, true, but not meaningful. He is considering remaining at Twitter," Musk said.
I would like to apologize to Halli for my misunderstanding of his situation. It was based on things I was told that were untrue or, in some cases, true, but not meaningful.
He is considering remaining at Twitter. Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 7, 2023
What Happened:Thorlieffson tweeted at Musk Monday, asking if he was employed or not, after being locked out of his company computer and accounts.
Musk demanded to know what exactly Thorliefsson had been working on, evenposting a meme videofrom the 1999 movie Office Space.
The billionaire entrepreneur also accused Thorliefsson of using his muscular dystrophy as an excuse as to why he couldnt work.
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The move was met with a lot of criticism. JournalistMatt Bindertweeted screenshotsof the exchange, saying there is no reason to treat someone like this. Binders tweet garnered more than eight million views as of Tuesday evening.
Separately,William LeGate, an entrepreneur,showedthat Twitter might be on the hook to pay Thorliefsson $100 million as part of his contract. Musk tweeted Tuesday evening that he had spoken with Thorliefsson and decided to keep him on as an employee.
Its unclear exactly what changed Musks mind, but potentially the waves of public criticism and the $100 million buy-out clause were factors.
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Photoby Steve Jurvetson on Flickr
