Musk is the perfect example of taking a joke too far. After __[airing his gripe](https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1507777261654605828)__ with __[Twitter](https://hackernoon.com/company/twitter)__'s __[free-speech principles](https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1507259709224632344)__ and toying with the idea of building a rival platform, the eccentric billionaire and supposed visionary spent a __[small fortune](https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2022/04/04/elon-musk-acquires-92-stake-in-twitter/?sh=1cd0eb0de2e0)__ to become the largest shareholder of the social media company. What followed was months of legal wrangling in a *will he, won't he* saga that ultimately ended in Musk __[being forced](https://hackernoon.com/the-metaverse-is-a-shtshow)__ to buy the entirety of Twitter for more than what it's probably worth.

\
Musk probably felt very stupid about the whole thing but has now likely fallen victim to the sunk-cost fallacy. Instead of reflecting on the decisions that led him to __[liquidate](https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/how-will-elon-musk-pay-twitter-2022-10-07/?ref=hackernoon.com)__ some of his own net worth to buy Twitter for $44 billion, he spent his first few days at the company making dumb jokes, __[laying off employees](https://hackernoon.com/musk-is-no-visionary-half-of-twitter-workforce-laid-off)__, and crowning himself CEO. 

\
Now he's hell-bent on __[burning the company to the ground](https://hackernoon.com/pick-your-billionaire)__. 

\
Just last week, Twitter asked the remaining employees at the company to __[choose between](https://www.reuters.com/technology/after-elon-musks-ultimatum-twitter-employees-start-exiting-2022-11-18/)__ "working long hours at high intensity" or GTFO. Understandably, hundreds of employees opted to depart instead of working for a megalomaniac, leaving Twitter with a skeleton crew struggling to fix bugs and preventing service outages.

\
Meanwhile, Musk is trying to __[find someone else](https://www.reuters.com/technology/elon-musk-says-he-expects-reduce-his-time-twitter-court-testimony-2022-11-16/)__ to run Twitter. Clearly, fixing the social media company's problems is beyond Musk's depth, so he wants someone else to take responsibility while he __[justifies](https://www.reuters.com/business/amid-twitter-turmoil-musk-takes-stand-56-bln-tesla-pay-trial-2022-11-16/)__ his ungodly compensation at electronic vehicle firm __[Tesla](https://hackernoon.com/company/tesla)__. But here's the thing though: Musk decided to lead Twitter of his own accord. If he had no intention of running the business, he could have just left former CEO Parag Agrawal to run Twitter until a replacement was found. In fact, one has to wonder why Musk decided to buy Twitter in the first place and whether __[personally involving himself](https://theintercept.com/2022/10/28/elon-musk-twitter/)__ in content moderation is a good idea.

\
Twitter's former execs are probably having a laugh right now, having used the billionaire's hostile takeover bid to jump ship and __[make millions](https://hackernoon.com/the-metaverse-is-a-shtshow)__ while leaving the world's richest man to fix the problems that plague the social media company, including its __[lack of profitability](https://hackernoon.com/why-twitter-blue-for-$8-will-underperform)__. For now, Musk seems more focused on spurring former U.S. President Donald Trump back to the platform, despite the latter __[declining the offer](https://www.reuters.com/technology/musks-twitter-poll-showing-narrow-majority-want-trump-reinstated-2022-11-20/)__ after being unbanned from Twitter.

\
Twitter ranked #52 in this week's __[tech company rankings](https://hackernoon.com/companies)__ while Tesla ranked #78.

### **Layoffs Reach Amazon**:cloud_with_lightning_and_rain:

And so it happened. __[Amazon](https://hackernoon.com/company/amazon)__ has decided to let go of __[nearly 10,000 people](https://techcrunch.com/2022/11/16/amazon-begins-layoffs-as-economic-woes-mount/)__, following in the footsteps of other tech companies, both small and __[large](https://hackernoon.com/the-billionaires-fcked-up)__, in course correcting now that the COVID-19 pandemic is virtually over. 

\
Meanwhile, *The Verge* __[published](https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/21/23466219/amazon-warehouse-surveillance-camera-offshore-workers-india-costa-rica)__ a damning report on a less-known practice at Amazon of hiring employees in India and Costa Rica to review warehouse camera footage in a bid to train the company's warehouse-monitoring algorithms. True to form, Amazon treats its employees even more poorly in low-cost countries, with workers calling their jobs "stressful," "mind-numbing," and "crushing."

\
Amazon ranked #14 in this week's rankings.

### **Business Chat is Where It's At** :money_mouth_face::money_mouth_face::money_mouth_face:

In yet another sign that Mark Zuckerberg's focus on the metaverse is __[doomed to fail](https://hackernoon.com/zuckerberg-still-rich-despite-drop-in-net-worth)__, the __[Meta](https://hackernoon.com/company/meta)__ CEO acknowledged the company's messaging apps WhatsApp and Messenger will drive sales sooner than Horizon Worlds.

\
"We talk a lot about the very long-term opportunities like the metaverse, but the reality is that business messaging is probably going to be the next major pillar of our business as we work to monetize WhatsApp and Messenger more," Zuck was __[heard telling employees](https://www.reuters.com/technology/zuckerberg-says-whatsapp-business-chat-will-drive-sales-sooner-than-metaverse-2022-11-18/)__ in a company-wide meeting following Meta's decision to let go of 11,000 people.

\
Meta ranked #16 in this week's rankings, while __[Facebook](https://hackernoon.com/company/facebook)__ and __[Instagram](https://hackernoon.com/company/instagram)__, which are owned by Meta, ranked #1 and #3 respectively.

### **It's Worse Than It Looks** :scream:

FTX's new CEO John Jay Ray III  — notable for managing the largest corporate failures in history, including Enron's — __[said](https://hackernoon.com/never-in-my-career-have-i-seen-such-a-complete-failure-of-corporate-controls-says-john-j-ray-iii)__ he had never in his career seen such a complete failure of corporate controls.

\
Meanwhile, U.S. lawmakers scrambled to figure out __[who to blame](https://www.ft.com/content/b1d7ee93-8f4d-4050-98f3-84958267864a)__ for the lax oversight at FTX whose former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, or SBF, is said to be __[hunkered down](https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/21/sam-bankman-fried-tries-to-broker-ftx-bailout-from-his-bahamas-home.html)__ in an upscale neighborhood in the Bahamas as his now-failed crypto exchange flags nearly __[$3.1 billion](https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/collapsed-ftx-owes-nearly-31-bln-top-50-creditors-2022-11-20/)__ in money owed to its 50 biggest creditors.

### **In Other News..**:newspaper:

* Note-taking and task management app Evernote is __[being acquired](https://evernote.com/blog/evernote-next-move-joining-bending-spoons/)__ by Italian app developer Bending Spoons. :handshake:
* __[Google](https://hackernoon.com/company/google)__, which ranked #18 this week, __[set rules](https://www.reuters.com/technology/google-sets-rules-hq-guest-speakers-after-row-over-indian-historian-emails-2022-11-18/)__ on who employees invite for talks at its headquarters. :mag:
* Bob Iger is __[back](https://www.reuters.com/technology/disneys-iger-may-have-cut-costs-streaming-loses-money-2022-11-21/)__ at Walt Disney Co., BABY! The former CEO, responsible for __[acquiring](https://www.wsj.com/articles/walt-disney-names-bob-iger-ceo-replacing-bob-chapek-11669000050)__ Marvel, Lucasfilm, and Pixar during his tenure, replaces Bob Chapek after just two years of retiring from the role. :man_office_worker:


***

And that's a wrap! This has been the tech company brief, and you were reading Issue #25! See y’all next week. PEACE ☮️

\
— Sheharyar Khan, Editor, Business Tech @ HackerNoon

This story contains new, firsthand information uncovered by the writer.

Amazon

Disney

Facebook

Google

Instagram

Techcrunch

Tesla

The Verge

Twitter

Walt Disney

Read My Stories

Too Long; Didn't Read

Cassandra Forward a free Cassandra-focused community event

Musk Took The Twitter Joke Too Far

Musk Took The Twitter Joke Too Far

Too Long; Didn't Read

People Mentioned

Companies Mentioned

@sheharyarkhan

Credibility

RELATED STORIES