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Cable Forum Team
Join Date: Jun 2006
Age: 67
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Re: Elon Musk $44 Billion Twitter deal
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...lar-dystrophy/
Quote:
Musk's controversial tweet exchange erupted after Thorleifsson tweeted nine days after losing access to his work computer, asking Musk to confirm whether or not he had been laid off. Musk responded after four hours, saying, “What work have you been doing?”
Thorleifsson told Musk that a confidentiality agreement prevented him from describing his Twitter projects, and then things seemed to become more heated when Musk immediately granted permission for Thorleifsson to openly discuss his work, then responded with two laughing emojis when Thorleifsson attempted to do that.
Thorleifsson told the BBC that shortly after this exchange, he was notified that he’d been fired, and the next day, Musk sent out a now-deleted tweet, saying of Thorleifsson, “He’s the worst, sorry.”
The next day, Musk lashed out at Thorleifsson again, tweeting, “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. Can’t say I have a lot of respect for that.”
Thorleifsson’s agency, Ueno, was massively successful before Twitter acquired it, completing ambitious projects for many major tech companies, from executing novelty projects like Google’s Santa Tracker to building the tools that support Apple Maps. Thorleifsson, who uses a wheelchair, told Jong-Fast that he had offers from Twitter and other tech companies for years to sell the agency, but he never seriously considered it until his muscular dystrophy started progressing, losing strength in his arms and making it harder for him to work.
Beyond becoming a recognizable talent to top tech industry heads, Thorleifsson also advocated on behalf of people with disabilities. In Iceland, Thorleifsson was named person of the year by several media outlets in 2022, BBC reported. He was recognized for his work campaigning to expand wheelchair access and his decision not to receive his Twitter payout as a lump sum but as wages that could be taxed to support Iceland’s social services.
This stellar reputation as a dedicated worker began haunting Musk, who began backpedaling on his criticism of Thorleifsson after Daniel Houghton—the former CEO of Lonely Planet, who worked directly with Thorleifsson on online content and e-commerce platforms—told Musk, “this is super disappointing to see.”
“Not only is his work ethic next level, his talent and humility are world class,” Houghton told Musk. “Exactly the kind of person you want on your team when the odds are stacked. I feel certain there’s a deep misunderstanding somewhere in here of ‘did no actual work.’”
Houghton’s tweet moved Musk to finally call Thorleifsson “to figure out what’s real vs what I was told.”
“Better to talk to people than communicate via tweet,” Musk admitted.
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