It seems like Elon Musk is facing a lot of difficulties in keeping the workflow at X running smoothly. The billionaire is already facing backlash from advertisers for his critical posts, followed by his most recent comments on an antisemitic conspiracy theory. Now, reportedly, all is not well within the company, as many employees, including senior and junior staffers, are resigning from their positions.
According to a report by Claire Atkinson, Elon Musk's leadership of X formally Twitter has been marked by a tumultuous few months, including a recent wave of resignations from senior and junior sales staff. Report suggests that despite recent bonus checks, many employees- specifically Sales staff have chosen to depart, casting a shadow of uncertainty over the platform's future.
According to Atkinson's report, X is currently operating with a minimal workforce in its office, and the advertising division is experiencing financial losses. The first mass layoffs occurred after acquiring Twitter last year, followed by mass resignations in 2023. This undoubtedly prompts concerns about the company's ability to maintain its revenue streams and attract new advertisers.
Notably, the shaken upheaval is also an impact of Musk's bold decisions, which are garnering both ardent support and fierce criticism. In fact, the company is already grappling with a significant backlash by advertisers followed by of existing advertisers, including Apple and Disney.
Few days ago Musk faced a torrent of criticism ever since he agreed with a user who falsely claimed Jewish people were stoking hatred against white people. Musk in his post said the user, who referenced the "Great Replacement" conspiracy theory, was speaking "the actual truth."
After the post, he faced a lot of criticism and backlash from both antisemitic people and even advertisers. He later apologised and called it "handing a loaded gun" to critics.
While Musk did apologise for his comment and called it the worst post he had made during a history of messages that included many "foolish" ones, the backlash from advertisers reminded advent as Musk called advertisers to just "F... off."
During his conversation with The New York Times at DealBook Summit, Musk addressed advertisers who have suspended their advertising on X as blackmailers. He stated that if advertisers are not comfortable with the platform's content, they should not advertise there. 'If somebody's going to try to blackmail me with advertising, blackmail me with money, go f**k yourself. Is that clear? I hope it is. Hey Bob (Iger), if you're in the audience, that's how I feel, don't advertise.'"
However, Musk did acknowledge the potential impact of an advertising boycott on X's survival. Nonetheless, he asserted that if the platform were to collapse, the blame would squarely fall on the advertisers who withdrew their support. "Whole world will know that those advertisers killed the company," Musk quoted.
Meanwhile, Disney CEO Bob Iger, earlier, during the summit, said that Disney is not getting positive benefits from its partnership with Elon Musk's X. "I have a lot of respect for Elon and what he has accomplished. We know that Elon is larger than life in many respects, and that his name is very much connected to the companies he founded or owns. By taking the position he took in a public manner, we felt that the association was not necessarily a positive one for us," Iger said.
