\nElon Musk apologizes after publicly mocking Twitter employee with disability<\/br>
\n2023-03-08 22:07:44<\/br><\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/GettyImages-1240311179-e1662576449255.jpg?w=1140&ssl=1\")
\n\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\nElon Musk has apologized after publicly mocking a Twitter employee with a disability who was uncertain if he had been laid off by the social media company. Musk questioned the work performance of the former employee, Haraldur Thorleifsson, and said that he had \u201cdone almost no work for the past four months.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thorleifsson, who goes by \u201cHalli,\u201d opened his work computer last Sunday and found that he had been logged out. Thorleifsson tweeted<\/a> Musk on Monday saying that he failed to get a response from Twitter\u2019s HR department, and hoped to get clarity about whether he was still employed at the company.<\/p>\n Dear @elonmusk<\/a> \ud83d\udc4b<\/p>\n 9 days ago the access to my work computer was cut, along with about 200 other Twitter employees.<\/p>\n However your head of HR is not able to confirm if I am an employee or not. You’ve not answered my emails.<\/p>\n Maybe if enough people retweet you’ll answer me here?<\/p>\n \u2014 Halli (@iamharaldur) March 6, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n Musk responded in a tweet<\/a>, asking \u201cwhat work have you been doing?\u201d Thorleifsson replied with a list<\/a> of his tasks, noting that he saved the company $500,000 on a software-as-a-service contract, among other things. Musk doubted his responses and replied<\/a>: \u201cpics or it didn\u2019t happen.\u201d Musk also questioned Thorleifsson\u2019s value at the company and said he was using his disability as an excuse. Thorleifsson clarified in a tweet that he has muscular dystrophy.<\/p>\n \u201cThe 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,\u201d Musk said in a tweet.<\/a> \u201cCan\u2019t say I have a lot of respect for that.\u201d<\/p>\n 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. <\/p>\n Can\u2019t say I have a lot of respect for that.<\/p>\n \u2014 Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 7, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n While the exchange was going on, Thorleifsson said he was informed that he was no longer employed at the company.<\/p>\n Thorleifsson, who lives in Iceland, joined Twitter in 2021 when the social network acquired his startup Ueno. He has been recognized by the\u00a0United Nations<\/a> for leading a charitable effort to build 1,000 ramps around Reykjavik.<\/p>\n After facing backlash, Musk had a change of heart and called the situation a \u201cmisunderstanding.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI 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,\u201d Musk said in a tweet<\/a>. \u201cHe is considering remaining at Twitter.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n He is considering remaining at Twitter.<\/p>\n \u2014 Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 7, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n The exchange isn\u2019t the first time that Musk has publicly mocked Twitter employees. Last November, the Twitter CEO used a sarcastic tweet<\/a> to mock Twitter staff he\u2019d fired for criticizing him. In another instance<\/a>, he said one former employee had \u201ca tragic case of adult onset Tourette\u2019s\u201d after she criticized him in a series of tweets.<\/p>\n Hundreds of former Twitter workers are taking legal action against the social network, with some alleging discrimination against women<\/a> and disabled employees<\/a>.<\/p>\n The latest jarring situation comes as Twitter has been struggling to stay online. On Monday, the social network experienced a significant outage<\/a>. Just\u00a0a few days before that<\/a>, many parts of the social network, including the timeline, were broken for users all over the world. Last month, Twitter started showing users that they were over their \u201cdaily rate limit,\u201d while another bug was preventing people from following other users. After Musk took over Twitter last October and fired thousands of employees, many feared that the social network would slowly fall apart.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n <\/br><\/br><\/br><\/p>\n\n
\n
\n