Elon Musk has come face to face with a top product designer who wondered if he still had a job after his work accounts were frozen without notice.
Halli Thorleifsson, 45, believed she was one of 200 employees made redundant at the end of February, after selling her company in 2021 to join Twitter, spurred by a worsening degenerative muscle condition.
The esteemed designer claimed in a tweet last night that, nine days later, Twitter’s head of human resources had still “not been able to confirm if [he] is he an employee or not’ and that Musk had not responded to his emails.
Thorleifsson was forced to engage Musk on his own forum in an exchange in which the Twitter CEO referenced memes as the designer sought clarity on his future and was asked to explain in front of 16.8 million people what I had been working on Twitter.
Musk ended the exchange with two laughing emojis, and the designer confirmed that he had since been told that he no longer worked at Twitter.
He later wrote on Twitter: “The reality is this guy (who is independently wealthy) didn’t do any real work, he claimed as an excuse that he had a disability that prevented him from writing, but at the same time he was tweeting up a storm. I can’t say have a lot of respect for that.
‘But he was fired?’ he added. ‘No, you can’t get fired if you weren’t working in the first place.’
Elon Musk Responds To Twitter Designer Who Said It Wasn’t Working In The First Place
Haraldur Thorleifsson led the innovation team which, among others, spearheaded the communities on the platform
A Twitter source claimed that two bodyguards are escorting Musk through Twitter headquarters.
Thorleifsson told the BBC that he joined Twitter in 2021 after selling his company, Ueno, to the site.
He said: ‘I decided to sell for a number of reasons, but one of them is that I have muscular dystrophy and my body is slowly but surely failing me.
“I have a few years of good work left, so this was a way to close my business and set myself and my family up for years where I won’t be able to do as much.”
The Iceland-based designer urged on his Twitter thread that he was most concerned about whether Musk would stick to his contract and “pay what he’s owed on his contract.”
The tug of war began when Thorleifsson tweeted Musk to say that he had not had access to his work computer for nine days and that Twitter’s human resources department had not been able to confirm whether he still worked for the company.
He too sought support of former CEO Jack Dorsey and two investors from Twitter.
Musk responded a few hours later to say, ‘What work have you been doing?’
thorleifsson saying would have to break confidentiality to respond, which Musk resigned.
The designer explained how he had worked to save and close different Twitter deals, prioritize design products to accommodate the company’s downsizing, level up design, act as a hiring manager for design roles, and help guide the design. company towards younger users.
Musk answered:’Level up from what skin to what? Photos or not happened. We haven’t hired design roles in four months. What changes did you make to help with the youth?’
thorleifsson answered that he did not have access to the documents because he had been blocked from his computer.
Musk also spoke with the designer about the details of a contract and design prioritization. When Thorleifsson gave an example, Musk Returned laughing emoji.
Halli asked permission to explain what she had been working on, and Musk granted it.
With permission, the designer gave a list of some of the things he had been working on and expressed concern about getting paid.
Musk grilled Thorleifsson about what exactly he had been working on at Twitter
The designer gave examples of things he was working on before Musk ended the trade.
Haraldur Thorleifsson took to Twitter to find out if he still had a job.
Musk ended the trade for exchange a clip from Office Space, where Bob Slydell asks, ‘What would you say you’re doing here?’
Shortly after, Halli confirmed on his own Twitter page that he had been fired.
He said that after the exchange, “Twitter’s head of human resources (who previously hadn’t been able to tell me twice if I had a job or not) emailed me and said I was no longer employed.
‘Which is totally fine and happens all the time. Companies let people go, that is their right.
“Usually they tell people about this, but apparently that’s the optional part on Twitter now.
‘But it’s okay, it’s fair, I’ve been fired and I’m okay with that.
“However, the next step is to find out if Twitter will pay me what they owe me under my contract.”
Thorleifsson spoke to the BBC about his experience losing his job at Twitter.
He said he suffers from muscular dystrophy and was concerned about whether the company would pay him the money he says they owe him.
‘This is my retirement fund, a way to take care of myself and my family as my illness progresses. Having the richest man in the world on the other side of this, potentially refusing to honor contracts, is not easy for me to accept,” he said.
He confirmed after the commitment that he had been fired by the company he joined in 2021
In an alternate exchange, Musk shared his thoughts on how much work his colleague had done.
Musk today responded to Alex Cohen, the director of a health care provider, who had written on the thread: “I’m not going to lie, this is the most entertaining exit interview I’ve ever witnessed.”
Musk said: “The reality is that this guy (who is independently wealthy) didn’t do any real work, he claimed as an excuse that he had a disability that prevented him from writing, but at the same time he was tweeting up a storm.”
“I can’t say I have a lot of respect for that.”
He concluded the exchange: ‘But he was fired? No, you can’t get fired if you weren’t working in the first place!’