SmartLess - Wondery Presents - Flipping The Bird: Elon vs Twitter

Episode Date: May 16, 2023

When Elon Musk posted a video of himself arriving at Twitter HQ carrying a white sink along with the message “let that sink in!” It marked the end of a dramatic takeover. Musk had gone from Twitter critic to “Chief Twit” in the space of just a few months but his arrival didn’t put an end to questions about his motives. Musk had earned a reputation as a business maverick. From PayPal to Tesla to SpaceX, his name was synonymous with big, earth-shattering ideas. So, what did he want with a social media platform? And was this all really in the name of free speech...or was this all in the name of Elon Musk? From Wondery, the makers of WeCrashed and In God We Lust, comes the wild story of how the richest man alive took charge of the world’s “digital public square.”Listen to Flipping The Bird: Wondery.fm/FTB_SMARTLESSSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

From Wondery, flipping the bird, Elon vs Twitter is a new podcast that unravels the fascinating story of Elon Musk's unexpected bid to buy Twitter and all of the drama that has happened since then. As one of the richest men on earth and a self-described business maverick, Elon epitomizes the Silicon Valley ethos of move fast and break things, and once Elon became Twitter's new CEO, you were either with him or against him. Those still employed at Twitter soon saw the company and its culture morphed into something they did not recognize.

He laid off 75% of the Twitter workforce, reinstated exceedingly problematic and dangerous users, and even encouraged his staff to sleep in the office. Ex-employees, Elon's critics, and fellow CEOs were quick to denounce him as an in over-his-head rich guy, but Twitter's doors are still open today. Is Elon all talk, or are his unruly methods actually the work of a genius? However you feel about his approach, Elon's influence is not only ushering in a new era of Twitter, but shaping the future of free speech on the internet as we know it. I'm about to play a clip from Flipping the Bird, Elon vs Twitter.

While you're listening, follow Flipping the Bird wherever you get your podcasts. Hey Prime members, you can listen to episodes ad-free on Amazon Music, download the Amazon Music app today. Twitter is under new ownership. Elon Musk has arrived at Twitter's San Francisco offices. And he's got big ideas about how his platform should be. I believe in the free flow of ideas. Is someone you don't like allowed to say something you don't like?

That is a sign of a healthy, functioning free speech situation. Except maybe for one Twitter employee who does just that. I opened up my phone, opened up Twitter, and one of the first tweets I saw when I opened the app was from his new boss. I'd like to apologize for Twitter being super slow in many countries. App is doing more than 1,000 poorly-batched RPCs just to render a home timeline. I was like, this doesn't make sense. So he responds in the free flow of ideas, tagging Elon for a fact.

I spent six years working on Twitter for Android and can say this is wrong. Turns out there are limits to what Elon will tolerate on his platform. He's fired. You know, your heart kind of sinks a little bit, like this is the end of eight years. This is how this ride's going to end. Some wonder, the makers of We Crash and In God We Lust comes a new series, Flipping the Bird, Elon vs. Twitter, a story about what happens when the richest man on the planet decides to acquire a powerful social media company in the name of free speech.

It started off promising, and then he just kind of, you know, keeps going on and on. But does he have what it takes? I can't believe I have to transition from alien away from this conversation back to Twitter. What, what do you mean? I'm not saying it's aliens, but yes it is. I'm supposed to believe this man is a genius. Or is this all just about Elon?

He's essentially mad that his tweets aren't performing as well as he would have expected them to. He'll like tweet a thing and then everyone's like, we gotta work on that now because he tweeted it. I just felt like, okay, this really is just a platform being ruled by a dictator who does things on his own land. And what will be left of Twitter by the time he's done? Basically my entire team was gone.

By the end of it, infrastructure was just completely gutted. They literally auctioned off the contents of the Market Street San Francisco Twitter headquarters. It just felt like everything was kind of descending into chaos. I'm David Brown, the host of Business Awards. Follow Flipping the Bird, Elon versus Twitter on Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts. You can start listening to Flipping the Bird early and ad-free by subscribing to Wondery Plus and Apple Podcasts or the Wondery App.

Hey, Prime members, you can listen to episodes of Flipping the Bird ad-free on Amazon Music. Download the Amazon Music app today.