The Shortcut

Share this post

Musk publicly fired Twitter employee who disagreed with him online

www.theshortcut.com

Musk publicly fired Twitter employee who disagreed with him online

Hell hath no fury like one of the world's richest individuals scorned

Adam Vjestica
Nov 15, 2022
4
1
Share this post

Musk publicly fired Twitter employee who disagreed with him online

www.theshortcut.com
Elon musk holding a microphone
(Credit: Carina Johansen via Getty Images)

➡️ The Shortcut Skinny: Twitter firing

  • 💢 Elon Musk has apparently fired at least three Twitter employees who dared to disagree with him online

  • 😨 Twitter Android engineer Eric Frohnhoefer was publicly fired on the platform

  • 😑 Frohnhoefer responded to one of Musk’s tweets and said he was “wrong”

  • 🙈 Musk clapped back and ultimately fired Frohnhoefer in a tweet

Elon Musk seemingly can’t stop firing people from Twitter, especially those that disagree with him.

After a short back and forth on the social media platform that Musk recently bought for $44bn, the billionaire publicly fired Twitter Android engineer Eric Frohnhoefer.

Frohnhoefer responded to a tweet from Musk apologizing for Twitter being slow in several countries, saying Musk’s claim was “wrong”.

Twitter avatar for @EricFrohnhoefer
Eric Frohnhoefer @ 🏡 @EricFrohnhoefer
I have spent ~6yrs working on Twitter for Android and can say this is wrong.
Twitter avatar for @elonmusk
Elon Musk @elonmusk
Btw, I’d like to apologize for Twitter being super slow in many countries. App is doing >1000 poorly batched RPCs just to render a home timeline!
9:14 PM ∙ Nov 13, 2022
130,313Likes7,703Retweets

That didn’t sit well with Musk who demanded to be corrected and even went as far as to say “Twitter is super slow on Android. What have you done to fix that?”

Frohnhoefer proceeded to reel off a number of reasons why Twitter was slow on Android, like how “it’s bloated with features that get little usage”, but his responses went without a reply from Musk.

A user then suggested Frohnhoefer should have objected to Musk’s claim privately, to which Frohnhoefer said: “Maybe he should ask questions privately. Maybe using Slack or email.”

Shortly after that exchange, Musk informed the Twitterverse in a since-deleted tweet that Frohnhoefer had been fired.

Musk as Michael Jordan in The Last Dance
(Credit: The Shortcut)

Forbes reached out to Frohnhoefer after the public dismissal and asked whether he’d been properly informed about his sacking.

“Nope, nothing,” Frohnhoefer told Forbes. “They’re all a bunch of cowards.”

Frohnhoefer shared a picture of being locked out of his work account on Twitter, saying “Guess it is official now.” He later told Forbes: “My laptop just shut off and now I can’t get back into it.”

Twitter avatar for @EricFrohnhoefer
Eric Frohnhoefer @ 🏡 @EricFrohnhoefer
Guess it is official now.
Computer Recognized Text: This Mac is Locked
The system PIN is required to use this Mac.
This Mac has been locked by your organization.
Tounlock, enter the system PIN or contact your administrator.
10:43 PM ∙ Nov 14, 2022
98,926Likes4,573Retweets

If it wasn’t already clear that Frohnhoefer had been officially let go by Twitter, his bio now reads “Android developer open to new opportunities” and “formerly at Twitter”.

Frohnhoefer, who had been with the company for over eight years, told Forbes that Twitter has “gone downhill” since Musk’s arrival and that “No one trusts anyone within the company anymore. How can you function? Employees don’t trust the new management. Management doesn’t trust the employees. How do you think you're supposed to get anything done?”

Musk didn’t respond to Forbes’ request for comment, and neither did Twitter as Musk disbanded the company’s public relations department after taking control.

In other Twitter news – and brace yourself, because there’s been a lot – Musk has banned free lunches, introduced a second check mark for official accounts and recently told employees that “bankruptcy wasn’t out of the question.”

The chaos at Twitter may be ruining people’s livelihoods, but it seems the drama that is ensuing on the platform is helping to drive daily active users. Musk shared a graph that shows the social media platform has seen a steady rise in users since July 1st.

Twitter avatar for @elonmusk
Elon Musk @elonmusk
Recent trend is promising
Image
6:49 PM ∙ Nov 14, 2022
102,786Likes6,835Retweets

It remains to be seen whether Musk can convince these new users to pay $8 for Twitter Blue, but the service that lets anyone get a check mark was been pulled shortly after several nefarious users began impersonating official accounts.

Musk also fell victim to being impersonated, and he swiftly put a stop to it after quickly becoming the brunt of the joke.

To summarize, then, comedy is legal on Twitter… until it isn’t, and free speech could get you fired.

The Shortcut is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

1
Share this post

Musk publicly fired Twitter employee who disagreed with him online

www.theshortcut.com
1 Comment
manifest
Nov 15, 2022Liked by Adam Vjestica

Fired him and then took credit for implementing Frohnhoefer's suggestions.

Also heard Euro regulatory bodies are primed to levy big fines against this D-list villain.

Expand full comment
Reply
TopNewCommunity

No posts

Ready for more?

© 2023 Matt Swider
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start WritingGet the app
Substack is the home for great writing