Musk Faces Continuous 'Controversy'... Employees Modify Twitter Algorithm Late at Night

Musk "Will Find New Twitter CEO by the End of the Year"

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla who acquired Twitter, is once again embroiled in a series of controversies. He demanded employees to modify the algorithm in the middle of the night to increase the views on his tweets, and despite donating over 2 trillion won worth of Tesla shares to charity, he sparked controversy by not disclosing the recipient organization.

Waking Employees in the Middle of the Night, Musk’s Power Trip to Boost His Tweet Views?

Elon Musk, Chief Executive Officer (CEO). [Image source=Yonhap News]

According to the US IT media Platformer on the 14th (local time), Twitter employees received a company message from James Musk at 2:36 a.m. on the 13th. The message said, "We are currently debugging the Twitter platform; please let us know if anyone can help solve the problem." James Musk, Elon Musk’s cousin, is currently involved in Twitter’s management.

The sudden call woke employees from their sleep in the middle of the night. Later, the employees realized that they needed to modify the tweet recommendation algorithm to increase the views on Musk’s tweets.

According to the media, the reason Musk decided to modify the algorithm is related to the NFL Super Bowl final on the 12th. On that day, the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs faced off, and Musk posted a tweet supporting the Philadelphia Eagles. The tweet had about 9.1 million views.

On the same day, President Joe Biden also posted a tweet supporting the team, saying his wife Jill Biden is an Eagles fan, and that tweet surpassed 29 million views. Musk was reportedly upset that despite having numerous followers, his tweet’s views were significantly lower than President Biden’s. Musk even deleted his own supportive tweet.

Eventually, Twitter held an emergency meeting that day to discuss ways to increase Musk’s tweet views, and about 80 employees modified the algorithm in less than a day. The 'For You' tab, which matches and recommends tweets that Twitter users might want to see, was adjusted to prioritize Musk’s tweets at the top.

The media pointed out that the low view count on Musk’s tweets was not due to an algorithm problem but rather his own doing. Many Twitter users blocked his tweets due to his arrogant behavior.

Musk Donates 2.5 Trillion Won Worth of Tesla Shares…Recipient Remains 'Undisclosed'

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Musk’s controversies do not end there. Despite recently donating over 2 trillion won to charity, he has not disclosed the exact recipient organization, sparking debate. According to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, Musk donated about 11.6 million Tesla shares from August to December last year. As a result, Musk’s Tesla stake decreased to around 13%.

However, Musk has not revealed which organizations received the donations, leading some to speculate that the stock donation might be a tax avoidance strategy. Analysts believe Musk likely received capital gains tax exemptions through his Tesla stock donations to charity.

Previously, in 2021, Musk donated Tesla shares worth $5.74 billion (approximately 7.36 trillion won) without disclosing the recipient, but it was later revealed that most of the shares were donated to the 'Musk Foundation,' which he owns. Musk established this foundation in 2001.

Meanwhile, Musk has stated his intention to find a new CEO for Twitter by the end of this year. At the World Government Summit (WGS) held in Dubai that day, when asked about the Twitter CEO succession plan, he said, "I guess it will be by the end of the year." Musk officially acquired Twitter in October last year and has said he will step down as CEO at some point in the future, but has not disclosed a specific timeline until now.