Twitter might go bankrupt, warns Elon Musk after senior executives leave company
San Francisco: Elon Musk reportedly said on Thursday, barely two weeks after he bought it for $ 44 billion, that Twitter is possibly on the way to bankruptcy.
The deal over the purchase of the social media platform, according to credit experts, affected Twitter’s finances ‘negatively’, reported NDTV.
Musk is learned to have informed Twitter employees over call that the possibility of bankruptcy could not be ruled out. He is also said to have told them so after a warning from a US regulator and also the resignation of senior executives considered the future leaders of the company.
Yoel Ruth and Robin Wheeler, executives, who had been moderating a Twitter Spaces chat with Musk on Wednesday as he tried to appease advertisers, have resigned, said sources. Lea Kissner, Twitter’s chief security officer, posted on Twitter on Thursday, that she had quit.
Damien Kieran, chief privacy officer of the company, and Marianne Fogarty, chief compliance officer, too have resigned, as per an internal message to Twitter’s Slack system on Thursday by an attorney on the privacy team of the company, sources added.
On Thursday afternoon, holding his first meeting with all employees of the social media company, Musk had reportedly warned that Twitter might lose billions of dollars in the coming year. He has also said that the company is losing more than $ 4 million a day, which is attributed largely to advertisers withdrawing from Twitter since the takeover followed by the new owner’s outright firing of employees.
Twitter is now in debt of $ 13 billion, on which it faces interest payment close to $ 1.2 billion within the next one year. The payments, however, exceed Twitter’s recently disclosed cash flow, which was $ 1.1 billion, till June-end.
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said that, after the resignation of three privacy and compliance officers of Twitter, it was watching the company with concern, as the loss of major hands put Twitter at a risk of violating regulatory orders.
Douglas Farrar, director of public affairs at the FTC, reportedly warned, “No CEO or company is above the law, companies must follow our consent decrees. The revised consent order of the FTC equips us ensure compliance, and we will use them if necessary.”
The FTC had alleged in May that Twitter had misused information, including phone numbers, to target advertising to users, although users were told that the information was being collected only for security purposes. The social media platform agreed to pay $ 150 million to settle the allegations.
Twitter, however, did not reply to queries on the possibility of bankruptcy, the Commission warning or resignations of executives.
While Musk, communicating with advertisers on Twitter’s Spaces feature, told the advertisers that he aimed to turn Twitter into a force of truth and put a halt on fake accounts, the advertisers don’t seem convinced.
Several brands, including General Motors and Chipotle Mexican Grill, have put a halt on their advertising on Twitter since Musk took over, reportedly concerned over the violation of moderation rules by the new head.
Chipotle Mexican Grill is learned to have said on Thursday that they would like to gain a better understanding of the platform under the new leadership.
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Australia bundled out for 104 as India take 46-run first-innings lead
Perth (PTI): Pacer Jasprit Bumrah completed his 11th five-wicket haul in Tests as Australia were bundled out for 104 at lunch, losing the remaining three wickets in the morning session on Day 2 to give India a handy 46-run first-innings lead in the opening match here on Saturday.
For India, captain Jasprit Bumrah (5/30) was the pick of the bowlers while Mohammed Siraj (2/20) and debutant Harshit Rana (3/48) also chipped in.
It was a abject surrender from Australia, who could add just 37 runs to their overnight score of 67/7, thanks chiefly to tail-ender Mitchell Starc (26), who emerged the highest scorer for his side
Bumrah struck the first blow on Saturday, dismissing keeper-batter Alex Carey (21) off the first ball of his over as the Australian could add just two runs to his overnight score.
India were all out for 150 from 49.4 overs at the stroke of tea on Friday.
Brief Scores:
India: 150 all out in 49.4 overs vs Australia: 104 all out in 51.2 overs (Alex Carey 21, Mitchell Starc 26; Jasprit Bumrah 5/30, Harshit Rana 3/48, Mohammed Siraj 2/20).
