Elon Musk responded to this development by asking, “What did you get done this week?” and indicating his intention to make a bid to acquire Twitter. These text exchanges were revealed in subsequent legal documents. Eventually, Musk successfully acquired Twitter for a staggering $44 billion. Subsequently, he dismissed CEO Parag Agrawal, who later filed a lawsuit against Musk along with other executives claiming that Musk was withholding severance payments. Following the acquisition, Musk allegedly instructed employees to physically print out the code they had recently written in order to demonstrate their productivity and justify their roles within the company. The valuation of Twitter is reported to have experienced a sharp decline since Musk took it private, with Fidelity estimating that the social media platform is now valued at 71.5% less than it was at the time of Musk’s acquisition.
Further developments included Musk drawing parallels between his actions at Twitter and his approach to the federal government. Subsequent to the Twitter acquisition, Musk promptly terminated senior executives, laid off numerous employees, and mandated a return to in-office work. Former Twitter employees are now offering guidance to federal workers on navigating the changes initiated by Musk. One such individual, Yao Yue, advised utilizing secure platforms like Signal to establish trusted communication channels, exchange information, support vulnerable individuals, and enhance overall collaboration. Yue emphasized the importance of documenting details safely through recording notes, voice memos, and visual records using personal devices and storing them securely for potential future use.
Musk’s utilization of the “What did you get done this week?” strategy at Twitter highlights his transformative impact on organizational dynamics, underscoring the parallels between his disruptive influence in the corporate realm and his subsequent foray into government affairs.
