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Owning Twitter has been quite painful, Elon Musk tells BBC - BBC News

 1 year ago
source link: https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-us-canada-65247272
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Musk and Clayton
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Owning Twitter has been quite painful, Musk tells BBC

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Summary

  1. Elon Musk, boss of Twitter and CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has given a surprise interview to the BBC
  2. Musk agreed unexpectedly to the last-minute conversation with our correspondent James Clayton at Twitter HQ
  3. The billionaire admits he only bought Twitter because he had to, and describes running the firm as "quite painful" and "a rollercoaster"
  4. He also spoke about the mass lay-offs at the firm, saying it was down to 1,500 staff members from an initial 8,000
  5. The BBC objected this week to a new tag describing it as "government funded media" on its main Twitter account - and Musk agrees the tag will be updated
  6. He also says he sometimes sleeps at the office, and addresses his controversial tweets saying: "I think I should not tweet after 3am".
  7. And he contests the idea that hate speech is now more common on the platform

Live Reporting

Edited by Tiffany Wertheimer

  1. New
    Posted at 7:427:42

    'Let's do it tonight' - how last-minute interview came about

    These kinds of interviews - ones that are high-profile and will cover a wide range of topics - are usually organised well in advance.

    But Elon Musk is notoriously unpredictable.

    James Clayton's interview with him on Tuesday evening, came about after he emailed the Twitter boss asking about the BBC's labelling on Twitter as "government-funded media".

    Usually, a reporter would receive a reply from someone within the company's media team - but not Elon Musk. He replied personally, so Clayton took his shot and asked for an interview.

    "Let's do it tonight" was the reply.

    In the end, Clayton and the BBC team just had a few hours to prepare for an interview that was to be live streamed to three million people online on Twitter (a prerequisite from Musk) - as well as the BBC's audience.

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  2. Analysis
    Posted at 7:307:30

    Little emotion from Musk in spontaneous interview

    Zoe Kleinman

    Technology editor, BBC News

    Someone who worked closely with Elon Musk once said to me “never bet against him” and I think this interview highlights exactly what she means.

    He doesn’t express much emotion. He’s spontaneous - agreeing to the interview at short notice - but controlling.

    He dictates the where, when and how. He challenges the reporter on many occasions, and won’t finish the interview when it ends.

    If you’re in his sphere there’s no doubt who is in charge.

    Even though he admitted to some mistakes at Twitter since his tumultuous takeover six months ago, there was no sign of attrition.

    "Yes, things happened, and now the CEO is my dog" was the vibe.

    He's adamant that the site is thriving - although we have only got his word for it - and reluctant to admit there's been an increase in hate and misinformation since he took charge.

    Whether privately the interview has given him food for thought, I'm sure we will never know - but I hope so.

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  3. Posted at 7:217:21

    Musk claims zapping bots will stop false information

    Mike Wendling

    US disinformation reporter

    During the interview, Musk said that his efforts to delete bots - automated accounts - will decrease disinformation on the platform.

    "My experience is there is less misinformation [on Twitter after the takeover] rather than more,” he told our reporter.

    Many outside experts disagree. One study – and there are a quite a few others along the same lines – found that engagement with popular misinformation-spreading accounts spiked after Musk’s takeover.

    “The acid test is people use the system and find it find it to be a good source of truth,” Musk insisted.

    But he repeatedly questioned whether journalists were fair arbiters of truth and said he had more trust in “ordinary people”.

    It's a curious position that ignores the forces that drive social media algorithms. For instance, emotive and provocative posts tend to get shared more regardless of whether they are true or false.

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  4. Posted at 7:087:08

    What did Musk say about the BBC Twitter profile row?

    Video content

    Video caption: Watch: Elon Musk on the BBC rowWatch: Elon Musk on the BBC row

    Musk has confirmed he will change the label on the BBC's Twitter profile from "government-funded media" to "publicly-funded".

    It comes after the BBC contacted Twitter to object that its main BBC account had been labelled "government-funded".

    Twitter's website defined "government-funded media" as an outlet where there may be "varying degrees of government involvement over editorial content".

    In an interview with our correspondent James Clayton, Musk said he always wanted to be as "truthful and accurate as possible".

    He said: "I think we're adjusting the label to be publicly-funded, which I think is not too objectionable. We're trying to be accurate."

    He also confirmed he would change the label to "publicly-funded" for US radio broadcaster NPR.

    Musk added he had the "utmost respect" for the BBC.

    He previously described the broadcaster as "among the least biased" news organisations.

    Last week speaking on the matter, the BBC said: "The BBC is, and always has been, independent. We are funded by the British public through the licence fee."

    Screengrab from BBC twitter account
    .Copyright: .
    The BBC's Twitter account still carries the "government-funded" label this morning despite Musk's assurancesImage caption: The BBC's Twitter account still carries the "government-funded" label this morning despite Musk's assurances
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  5. Posted at 7:007:00

    Musk defends sacking Twitter staff

    In the interview, Musk said taking over Twitter has been painful, and that he has been "under constant attack".

    But the billionaire defended carrying out mass sackings of staff following the takeover.

    "The issue is like the company's going to go bankrupt if we do not cut costs immediately," he said.

    "This is not a caring, uncaring situation. It's like if the whole ship sinks then nobody's got a job.

    "What would you do? If you've four months to live, a 120 days, in a hundred and 20 days you're dead, so what do you want to do?

    Read more:

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  6. Posted at 6:516:51

    Watch: Elon Musk's last minute interview with the BBC

    Speaking with James Clayton, Musk talked about many things from the pain of owning Twitter to stopping himself tweeting after 3am - oh and he sometimes sleeps at the office.

    Video content

    Video caption: Watch: Elon Musk's last minute interview with the BBCWatch: Elon Musk's last minute interview with the BBC
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  7. Posted at 6:496:49

    Musk 'was thinking about the questions'

    James Clayton, the reporter who interviewed Elon Musk, says that Musk was "constantly trying to push back" and asking questions instead of answering them.

    "He's a difficult person to interview - he laughs a lot and tries to wriggle out of questions," Clayton told the BBC News channel.

    "But he was thinking about the questions and gave answers he thought about and he appeared to be genuinely dealing with the question in hand," Clayton says, quoting Musk's response when asked about whether TikTok should be banned: "He said 'probably it shouldn't be' but you got the sense he's actually thinking about some of these questions."

    Clayton also remarks that out of 8,000 staff only about 1,500 are left.

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  8. Posted at 6:416:41

    It was insight into a strange life, says ex-Twitter boss

    Musk's interview "gave us some insight into the strange life of this billionaire", a former Twitter vice-president has said.

    Bruce Daisley, who ran Twitter in Europe, Middle East and Africa, told BBC Radio 4 Today programme: "He confessed today that the only reason he went through with buying Twitter was because he believed a judge would force him to go through with the transaction.

    "He's never admitted that till now, so it was a very whimsical interview... but he gave us some insight into the strange life of this billionaire."

    He also suggested the interview showed he was not always consistent in what he says.

    Daisley added: "He seems to be a very enigmatic figure."

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  9. Posted at 6:226:22

    'A bizarre interview'

    James Clayton is reflecting on his unexpected interview with Elon Musk.

    Speaking on the BBC's TV news channel, our North America tech reporter says there were some bizarre moments in the interview, including when Musk joked that his dog is now Twitter's CEO.

    "That is his sense of humour and he's always been like that," Clayton said, adding: "It's baked into him, he's always going to say those things."

    Clayton added that Musk seems to use humour to deflect from other, harder issues.

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  10. Posted at 6:176:17

    A timeline of Musk's time at Twitter

    April 2022: Musk becomes Twitter's largest shareholder with a 9.2% stake in the social media company

    April 2022: The board of Twitter accepts a $44bn (£34.5bn) takeover offer from with Musk. He also calls for a series of changes, from relaxing its content restrictions to eradicating fake accounts

    July 2022: Musk seeks to end his bid to buy Twitter, alleging multiple breaches of the agreement. He backs out claiming Twitter failed to provide enough information on the number of spam and fake accounts

    July 2022: A US judge orders that Twitter's lawsuit against Elon Musk go to trial in October, a blow to the world's richest man who had asked for a delay. Twitter hopes that the court will order Musk to complete the takeover at the agreed price of $54.20 per share

    October 2022: Musk completes his $44bn takeover of Twitter

    November 2022: Musk says he has "no choice" but to slash the company's workforce as the firm is losing more than $4m (£3.5m) a day

    November 2022: Twitter stops enforcing its policy on misleading information about coronavirus

    December 2022: Musk says he will resign as Twitter's chief executive officer when he finds someone "foolish enough to take the job", following a Twitter poll in which 57.5% of users vote "yes" to him quitting the role

    March 2023: The Twitter owner announces a shake-up of the social media platform's paid Twitter Blue feature

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  11. Posted at 6:156:15

    WATCH: Musk addresses BBC row

    Elon Musk confirmed he would change the BBC Twitter label to "publicly funded" after last week's row over the BBC account's tag inaccurately indicating the corporation is "government funded".

    Video content

    Video caption: Watch: Elon Musk on the BBC rowWatch: Elon Musk on the BBC row
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  12. Posted at 6:066:06

    What did Elon Musk say?

    Elon Musk and James Clayton
    BBCCopyright: BBC

    If you're just joining us, here's a recap of some of the highlights of Elon Musk's interview with the BBC's James Clayton.

    • Musk said that he wanted to pay less for Twitter after discovering, he says, more automated bots on the network. But later in the conversation he said he now wouldn't sell even if offered what he had paid for the company
    • The Twitter CEO said the company is "roughly" breaking even - a vague claim that we can't immediately verify
    • Musk said that he was working to clamp down on misinformation and challenged our reporter over reports that hate speech is on the rise on the platform
    • As is usual with the billionaire, he peppered the conversation with dirty jokes and less-serious statements - saying, for instance, that his dog is now Twitter's CEO
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  13. Posted at 5:555:55

    A last minute, unexpected live interview

    Elon Musk doesn't often give interviews, and last night's came about pretty unexpectedly - the BBC only had a few hours' notice - not long at all for a high-profile, wide ranging and relatively long interview.

    James Clayton, the BBC's North America tech reporter, who interviewed Musk in the Twitter offices in San Francisco - will be sharing his thoughts about the interview on this page in a short while.

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  14. Posted at 5:465:46

    Musk defends convicted vote trickster

    Mike Wendling

    US disinformation reporter

    While answering a question from another far-right influencer - he follows several on Twitter - Musk defended a man convicted of tricking people out of their vote during the 2016 US presidential election.

    Douglass Mackey was convicted last month of using his popular Twitter account to post false information about "voting via text" - something that's not possible in US elections.

    Prosecutors said 4,900 people had texted the number hoping to vote for Hillary Clinton. Mackey was convicted of depriving them of their right to cast a legal vote, and now faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

    Musk agreed with the influencer and said the conviction was "over the top".

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  15. Posted at 5:325:32

    Musk calls for AI regulatory body

    Let's go back now to a question from our correspondent on whether we are seeing a huge moment for AI.

    Musk said AI had been going a long time but needed an "easy interface" like chatbot ChatGPT had provided.

    He had been warning about AI safety for decades, he said. "There should be a regulatory body to make sure it doesn't present a danger to the public."

    Last month the Twitter boss was among key figures in AI who called for training of powerful AI systems to be suspended amid fears of a threat to humanity.

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  16. Posted at 5:215:21

    We need to move on from the Twitter files - Musk

    Mike Wendling

    US disinformation reporter

    After he took over the company, Musk promised to clean house.

    Part of that process was the "Twitter Files". Twitter released emails about previous management decisions to several hand-picked journalists who wrote long Twitter threads based on the information.

    They included allegations of censorship and undue control by the US government and other powerful people.

    The files and the claims made about them have been the subject of much debate - and in recent days Musk has also had public spats with some of his chosen reporters. In response to a question he indicated that the project was coming to an end.

    "Let's move on to the future," he said.

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  17. Posted at 5:145:14

    The interview ends

    Musk bids farewell to his Twitter users on Twitter Spaces and thanks those who joined for listening.

    But we are not going anywhere - stay with us for reaction to this extraordinary couple of hours spent by the BBC in the company of Twitter's boss.

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  18. Posted at 5:105:10

    Trying to figure out what's real is really hard - Musk

    The conversation - between several listeners and Musk - turned at one point to AI and the use of that technology in deep fakes and other examples of false news. They referred to examples of fake videos involving politicians like US President Joe Biden.

    Musk said the advent of such tech these days made "trying to figure out what's real is really hard".

    He added that at Twitter: "We're going to be very focused in figuring out what's real and if not real - trying to address it." He did not provide further examples of how Twitter might try and achieve that.

    He also argued that for breaking news "If you want real time in news, this is the best place, it's Twitter".

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  19. Posted at 5:085:08

    Interview still going on... kind of

    Our correspondent thanks Musk for his time and tries, once again, to bring the interview to an end.

    Musk is still talking to users via Twitter Spaces - and asks if anyone has any final questions before he "signs off".

    There's some back and forth between him and those listening in to the interview who want to ask general questions about Twitter - and for now it seems Musk intends to stay put.

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  20. Posted at 5:025:02

    When the interviewee doesn't leave the interview...

    Our correspondent has tweeted his perspective. Musk is continuing the chat on Twitter, taking questions from the about three million people following the chat on Twitter spaces.

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