Musk Engages In Heated Exchange With Ex-Twitter Employee; Apologises Later

Elon Musk, chief executive officer (CEO) of Twitter, and Haraldur Thorleifsson, a former employee, have been engaged in a war of words on the microblogging platform. It started when Thorleifsson shared a post on Twitter seeking clarity on whether the company had fired him.

Soon, Musk replied with mocking replies and talked about the former employee's disability on the platform openly. Musk has, however, now apologised for his behaviour.

It started with Thorleifsson's tweet, which said, "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 now. You have not answered my emails. Maybe if enough people retweet, you'll answer me here?"

To this, Musk replied, "What work have you been doing?". Thorleifsson then listed his job profile, but Musk continued posing questions to the replies. When another user, Alex Cohen, shared the thread on his Twitter handle, Musk wrote, "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."

He also suggested that Thorleifsson only tweeted at him for "a big payout".

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.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 7, 2023

Thorleifsson later detailed the limitations of his muscular dystrophy, saying that he could write threads on Twitter through his phone, given that it allows him to type with one finger. His disability, he added, wasn't a major issue in the pre-Elon era of Twitter.

"I was a senior director, and my job was mostly to help teams move forward, give them strategic and tactical guidance," he said. "But as I told HR (I'm assuming that's the confidential health information you are sharing), I can't work as a hands-on designer for the reasons outlined above."

Soon, another user Daniel Houghton said that he had worked with Thorleifsson in the past, and Musk's replies were "super disappointing".

As someone who has worked directly with @iamharaldur during a turnaround, this is super disappointing to see. Not only is his work ethic next level, his talent and humility are world class. Exactly the kind of person you want on your team when the odds are stacked. I feel certain… https://t.co/Hk5nW1Y9ab

— Daniel Houghton (@danielhoughton) March 7, 2023

Musk replied on Wednesday, saying that he did a video call with Thorleifsson and it is better "to talk to people than communicate via tweet".

Later, he apologised, saying, "I would like to apologise to Halli for my misunderstanding of his situation. It was based on things I was told that were untrue or, in some cases, true, but not meaningful. He is considering remaining at Twitter."

I would like to apologize to Halli for my misunderstanding of his situation. It was based on things I was told that were untrue or, in some cases, true, but not meaningful.

He is considering remaining at Twitter.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 7, 2023

According to Bloomberg, this is not the first time Musk has shown inappropriate behaviour online. In 2018, he called a British caver who helped rescue a trapped Thai soccer team a "pedo guy". The man had sued Musk for defamation.

In December last year, Musk publicly attacked Yoel Roth, Twitter's former safety head. Musk publicly posted excerpts of Roth’s doctoral dissertation, which suggested LGBTQ dating apps should create a safe space for the minors who were using the apps despite their terms of service.

Musk then accused the former Twitter executive of being an advocate for child sexualisation — a baseless accusation that exposed Roth to online abuse and caused him to leave, and then sell, his home.