Topline
A bizarre video Elon Musk shared of himself walking into Twitter headquarters holding a bathroom sink Wednesday quickly became the most popular tweet of the past week and one of the most popular of the past month, according to social media tracking firm NewsWhip, just ahead of the billionaire’s expected takeover of the company.
This video grab taken from a video posted on the Twitter account of billionaire Elon Musk on … [+]
Key Facts
The 9-second video has been viewed nearly 30 million times in the 23 hours since it was posted, and the tweet has attracted more than 1 million likes and over 178,000 retweets.
Musk tweeted the message “Entering Twitter HQ — let that sink in!” along with the video—he hasn’t stated if there was a reason he had the sink other than to make the pun.
Musk also changed his Twitter bio to “Chief Twit” and marked his location as “Twitter HQ” on Wednesday, in another strong indication his $44 billion deal to buy the tech giant will go through Friday as planned.
He notably tweeted a message to Twitter advertisers Thursday promising the platform will not “become a free-for-all hellscape” under his ownership, despite his promise to significantly loosen moderation guidelines.
What To Watch For
Musk is slated to address Twitter employees Friday, according to Bloomberg. He also retweeted a photo from his biographer, Walter Isaacson, Thursday showing him speaking to a group at “Twitter headquarters’ coffee bar.”
Key Background
It now appears all but certain Musk’s on-again-off-again deal to buy Twitter will go through by a court-imposed 5 p.m. Friday deadline, with banks reportedly starting the process Wednesday night to send $13 billion to finance the deal. It’s not clear whether there will be immediate impacts on user experience once Musk takes over the company, but he’s reportedly planning massive staffing cuts that will leave a skeleton crew of employees compared to the current workforce. The Washington Post reported the billionaire plans to eliminate around 75% of Twitter’s roughly 7,500-person workforce, which appears to build on downsizing plans Twitter already had in place (Musk denied those reports while meeting with Twitter staff this week, according to Bloomberg). The company was planning to slash $800 million in payroll by the end of 2023 even if Musk’s deal fell through, with critical security infrastructure among the areas being hit by the cuts, according to the Post.
Forbes Valuation
We estimate Musk to be worth $222.2 billion, making him the richest person in the world.
Further Reading
Musk Plans To Cut 75% Of Twitter Workforce, Report Says (Forbes)
Elon Musk Shares Video Inside Twitter HQ As Deal Close Appears Imminent (Forbes)
Musk Says Twitter ‘Cannot Become A Free-For-All Hellscape’ Ahead Of Purchase (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2022/10/27/video-of-elon-musk-carrying-sink-through-twitter-headquarters-is-this-weeks-most-popular-tweet/