Jack Dorsey, the former CEO of Twitter, recently criticized Elon Musk’s leadership of the social media site Bluesky, an upcoming Twitter rival that Dorsey helped build. Dorsey’s criticism is strikingly opposite to his approval of Musk’s acquisition of Twitter one year earlier. Now, according to Dorsey, Musk, who is the CEO of Tesla and Twitter, should have backed out of the deal and paid the $1 billion penalty instead of purchasing the website.
With advertisers leaving and users looking for alternatives, Dorsey’s criticism is part of a rising reaction against Musk’s leadership at Twitter. Steep employment layoffs, a demanding work environment, and a complete redesign of the website’s user interface have all been hallmarks of Musk’s leadership. To provide users with things they are more likely to interact with, Twitter has also aggressively leaned toward a subscription model and curated feeds.
Dorsey earlier expressed regret for expanding the business “too quickly” when Musk started laying off employees, which caused a roughly 50% decrease in the size of the business. Since then, he has occasionally challenged Musk’s choices, turning to Twitter to voice his displeasure with Musk’s decision to rename the website’s “Birdwatch” function to “Community Notes,” for instance.
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To create a “decentralized” social media system, where no single individual or company is in charge of the experience, Dorsey started the Bluesky project while he was still the CEO of Twitter. Despite Twitter’s investment in Bluesky, the latter is now a distinct business with a unique CEO. It has been gaining a lot of attention from famous Twitter users lately, some of whom lost interest in the service under Musk.
Dorsey’s comments on Bluesky show how Musk’s unpredictable leadership has alienated a former friend and significant ally. Given social media’s huge influence on society, Dorsey’s critique also emphasizes the necessity of appropriate stewardship of these platforms.
