Elon Musk’s grovelling apology to employee who Twitter sacked and then un-sacked

Elon Musk has given an unusual public apology to a Twitter employee but there’s speculation his contriteness was for another reason.

Elon Musk has been called “Just an absolutely horrible person” for how he treated his employee. (Photo by Britta Pedersen / POOL / AFP)

Elon Musk has been branded an “absolutely horrible person,” after a public spat with a Twitter employee led the CEO to issue a grovelling apology and apparently un-sack the staff member.

“Something has clearly gone pretty wrong,” at Twitter, said a human resources expert.

In a series of tweets on Tuesday, Mr Musk said Haraldur “Halli” Thorleifsson, who was Iceland’s 2022 person of the year, “was the worst, “did no actual work” and accused him of using his disability as an “excuse” to get out of typing.

It’s now emerged that Twitter was potentially on the nose for up to $100 million in penalties if it sacked Mr Thorleifsson.

The whole exchange played out on Twitter which Mr Thorleifsson said he was forced to communicate with Mr Musk on after multiple emails to both HR and the CEO to see if he was still employed went unanswered.

Dear @elonmusk 👋

9 days ago the access to my work computer was cut, along with about 200 other Twitter employees.

However your head of HR is not able to confirm if I am an employee or not. You've not answered my emails.

Maybe if enough people retweet you'll answer me here?

— Halli (@iamharaldur) March 6, 2023

Mr Thorleifsson had survived several rounds of sackings in the wake of Mr Musk’s $67 billion purchase of Twitter.

He had joined the company when Twitter bought his Icelandic creative agency Ueno in 2021.

Several days ago, he claimed that access to his computer had been cut which was usually a sign that someone’s employment had been terminated.

However, as his manager had also been sacked, he had no direct report to confirm if he was still employed and if he was not what the term so of his dismissal might be.

Elon Musk has made a very public apology to an employee. (Photo by JUSTIN SULLIVAN / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)

Elon Musk mocks ‘sacked’ employee

Exasperated, and after failing to raise HR, this week he tagged Mr Musk in a Twitter post asking if he was indeed one of the thousands sacked.

Mr Musk asked the man to explain the work he had been doing for Twitter.

Mr Thorleifsson then detailed in a series of tweets all of the achievements he had made for Twitter during his time there.

But Musk appeared unsatisfied and responded to some of Mr Thorleifsson’s responses with jokes, comedic video clips, and even crying-with-laughter emojis.

In one reply to one of Mr Thorleifsson’s achievements he wrote “pics of it, or didn’t happen”.

In another he said: “He’s the worst, sorry”.

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.

Can’t say I have a lot of respect for that.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 7, 2023

“To be clear. You have every right to lay me off,” Mr Thorleifsson said.

“But usually people are told when that happens. Maybe with a letter or something.”

During his back and forth with Mr Musk, he said HR had now got in touch and confirmed his dismissal.

Mr Musk then insulted his apparently ex-employee accusing him of confronting him in order to “get a big payout”.

“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, and yet was simultaneously typing up a storm.

“Can’t say I have a lot of sympathy for that”.

Iceland-based Twitter employee Haraldur Thorleifsson. Picture: Twitter

Musk’s about face apology

Mr Thorleifsson has muscular dystrophy, a condition that sees progressive weakness of the muscles.

Now in a wheelchair, he said that typing was indeed an issue but his manager had been aware of that and had structured his job so he could keep typing to a minimum.

Mr Thorleifsson has been lauded in his native Iceland where he has helped install 450 wheelchair ramps – and has plans for 1600 in total – to make the small nation more accessible.

Just as quickly as Mr Musk began laying into Mr Thorleifsson he stopped doing so and then announced he was going to call him directly “to figure out what’s real vs what I was told”.

Soon after he backtracked and deleted several tweets.

“I would like to apologise 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. He is considering remaining at Twitter.”

Thousands id people have been sacked at Twitter. (Photo by Constanza HEVIA / AFP)

Possible massive payout

There has been speculation that Twitter was facing the prospect of a heavy financial penalty if it sacked Mr Thorleifsson.

On Monday, Mr Thorleifsson cryptically asked on Twitter if the company “will pay me what they own me per my contracts”.

It’s been reported that he was one of several former Ueno employees on a “do not fire” list because it was too costly to do so.

Mr Thorleifsson decided to take the Twitter payout for his company in wages rather than stocks or other options.

Being paid for the company in wages left him with a higher tax bill but he said he was happy to pay it as he valued the benefits Iceland gave to its citizens.

But if Twitter sacked Mr Thorleifsson it would have to pay a large chunk of the remaining money as he walked out the door.

Based on the number of employees Ueno had, there were suggestions Twitter may have bought the firm for as much as $100 million.

Nether Twitter nor Mr Thorleifsson has confirmed a financial penalty would be payable if he left the company.

But Mr Thorleifsson told the BBC the proceeds from the sale of Ueno was his “retirement fund” to enable his care as his condition worsens.

“Having the richest man in the world potentially refusing to stand by my contract is not easy for me to accept.”

Elon Musk has been called “Just an absolutely horrible person” for how he treated his employee. (Photo by Britta Pedersen / POOL / AFP)

‘Just an absolutely horrible person’

On his own social media platform, Mr Musk has been branded as “ablest and cruel,” by one.

Matt Binder, a reporter with tech website Mashable said “there’s no reason to treat someone like this”.

“Just an absolutely horrible person”.

Speaking to news website MSNBC, Matt Monette from human resource platform Deel said employers had to ensure they abided by employment rules in different countries and contracts.

“If an employee is having to ask their boss via Twitter if they still have a job or not, something has clearly gone pretty wrong”.

Additional reporting by Jack Evans.