Sad as it is, Elon Musk's recent behavior toward a terminated employee aligns perfectly with his typical childish antics and turbulent reign as the CEO of Twitter.
A Twitter employee resorted to tweeting the CEO – appropriately dubbed "the world's worst boss" – after he was denied access to his work computer for several days and unanswered emails left him no choice. The query at hand: Do I still have a job?
Because the employee – Haraldur Thorleifsson who uses the Twitter handle @iamharaldur and goes by Halli– could not get a response through normal corporate channels, he tweeted his boss directly... for which he was publicly humiliated by Musk.
The original Tweet read:
"Dear @elonmusk 👋"
"9 days ago the access to my work computer was cut, along with about 200 other Twitter employees."
"However your head of HR is not able to confirm if I am an employee or not. You've not answered my emails."
"Maybe if enough people retweet you'll answer me here?"
\u201cDear @elonmusk \ud83d\udc4b\n\n9 days ago the access to my work computer was cut, along with about 200 other Twitter employees.\n\nHowever your head of HR is not able to confirm if I am an employee or not. You've not answered my emails.\n\nMaybe if enough people retweet you'll answer me here?\u201d— Halli (@Halli) 1678135128
And answer, he did... in the most immature way possible, complete with laughing emojis.
Musk first asked:
"What work have you been doing?"
\u201c@iamharaldur What work have you been doing?\u201d— Halli (@Halli) 1678135128
When @iamharaldur expressed he would have to "break confidentiality" to answer his boss' question, Musk gave him the green light, writing:
"It's approved, you go ahead."
@MattBinder/Twitter
The employee then shared his contributions to the company which included saving $500k on an individual SaaS contract, leading design projects, and hiring for design positions.
@MattBinder/Twitter
Musk then asked for specifics on the employee's previous response, and when @iamharaldur answered, Musk oh-so-maturely replied with:
"🤣🤣"
@MattBinder/Twitter
Musk continued to question Halli publicly, asking, "Level up from what design to what?":
"Pics or it didn't happen."
@MattBinder/Twitter
He then attempted to lighten the mood with an Office Space clip.
\u201c@iamharaldur Would you say that you\u2019re a people person?\nhttps://t.co/kLD9NWHVIT\u201d— Halli (@Halli) 1678135128
Twitter users who saw the exchange go down slammed Musk for his poor public treatment of the employee.
\u201cthere\u2019s no reason to treat someone like this\n\njust an absolutely horrible person\u201d— Matt Binder (@Matt Binder) 1678158753
\u201c@MattBinder @MaraWilson Just disgraceful.\u201d— Matt Binder (@Matt Binder) 1678158753
\u201c@iamharaldur @elonmusk So he just ghosts his employees now instead of having the respect to communicate with them. When will he step down from Twitter as he promised?\u201d— Halli (@Halli) 1678135128
\u201c@MattBinder @MNateShyamalan It\u2019s easy to forget that we\u2019re not reading the script of a comedy but of an actual person whose livelihood is on the line and being treated like a punchline for online trolling. Worst boss ever. What an absolute scumbag.\u201d— Matt Binder (@Matt Binder) 1678158753
\u201c@TheNolaChick @iamharaldur this is WILD... Elon is being such a jerk\u201d— Halli (@Halli) 1678135128
\u201c@MattBinder Whaaaaaaa??? \n\nNo one should be treated this way.\u201d— Matt Binder (@Matt Binder) 1678158753
But it didn't end there. Elon just kept escalating the antagonism toward Halli.
\u201c@anothercohen The reality is that this guy (who is independently wealthy) did no actual work, claimed as his excuse that he had a disability that prevented him from typing, yet was simultaneously tweeting up a storm. \n\nCan\u2019t say I have a lot of respect for that.\u201d— Alex Cohen (@Alex Cohen) 1678156258
And Musk got utterly and epically owned.
\u201cHi again @elonmusk \ud83d\udc4b\n\nI hope you are well. \n\nI\u2019m fine too. I\u2019m thankful for your interest in my health. \n\nBut since you mentioned it, I wanted to give you more info. \n\nI have muscular dystrophy. It has many effects on my body. \n\nLet me tell you what they are:\u201d— Halli (@Halli) 1678192233
\u201cHello new friends!\n\nYou don't have to like me but I think you're pretty great. \n\nHere is my favorite photo. I like it. But again, you don't need to.\u201d— Halli (@Halli) 1678154701
And now it's awkward.
\u201c\u201cI would like to apologize to Halli for my misunderstanding of his situation.\u201d\u201d— Best of Dying Twiter (@Best of Dying Twiter) 1678151462
Damn right you would.
While Halli handled the bizarre bullying from Musk with class, people were not OK with this behavior.
\u201c@MattBinder I don't understand why anyone would want to work for someone like this.\u201d— Matt Binder (@Matt Binder) 1678158753
\u201c@MattBinder The worst part is he genuinely thinks he\u2019s funny and charming when he\u2019s behaving like this\u201d— Matt Binder (@Matt Binder) 1678158753
\u201c@MattBinder Now THAT is a hostile work environment. Being FORCED to publicly ask if you're still employed, because the company won't respond, only to get NO ANSWER and be mocked. If they end up not getting paid despite no communication on their employment, that sounds like a reason to sue\u201d— Matt Binder (@Matt Binder) 1678158753
@iamharaldur finished the thread by telling Musk he had "every right to lay me off," adding:
"That's totally fair and fine."
"But usually people are told when that happens. Maybe with a letter or something."
\u201c@elonmusk But as I shared I finally got confirmation that I am not an employee anymore.\n\nAgain, that's totally within your rights. No complaints. \n\nBut can you make sure I get paid what I'm owed?\u201d— Halli (@Halli) 1678135128
He revealed that after nine days he finally got "confirmation" that he is no longer an employee of Twitter, also requesting that he gets his final paycheck.
But got one final dig in at Musk.
\u201cBut ok, fair enough, I've been laid off and I'm ok with that. \n\nNext up though is finding out if Twitter will pay me what they owe me per my contract. \n\nOr, will @elonmusk , one of the richest people in the world, try to avoid paying? \n\nStay tuned!!\u201d— Halli (@Halli) 1678159916
Well played, Halli. And on the plus side, he doesn't have to answer to Musk anymore.