Jack Dorsey thinks Elon Musk isn’t doing right by Twitter
Jack Dorsey has been using Bluesky, the app he partially funded that’s built upon a federated and open social networking protocol he advocates, to do some truth-telling about Twitter, Elon Musk and the decision to take the company private under the stewardship of the Tesla CEO. Dorsey admits that Twitter is faring poorly under Musk – but he also blames the board for forcing the sale, and says Twitter had few options as a public company that would’ve ended well.
Dorsey responded to a question from Bluesky user Jason Goldman regarding whether he felt that Musk proved the “best possible stewed [sic]” (it’s okay Jason we all make typos and we know you meant steward) with the following:
No. Nor do I think he acted right after realizing his timing was bad.
Nor do I think the board should have forced the sale. It all went south. But it happened and all we can do now is build something to avoid that ever happening again. So I’m happy Jay and team and nostr devs exist and building it.
Washington Post writer Will Oremus then quoted that post and attempted to frame it as Dorsey avoiding blame himself, which Dorsey strongly objected to, noting that he has previously apologized for his role in Twitter’s fate plenty.
In addition to lamenting Twitter’s state under Musk and the circumstances that led it there, Dorsey also shared his opinion that Twitter “never would’ve survived as a public company,” suggesting that market conditions combined with the state of the company at the time meant it was destined for manipulation by activist investors and PE firms angling to take it over. Dorsey also re-contextualized his now-infamous tweet claiming that “Elon is the singular solution I trust,” clarifying that he meant specifically for the outcome of taking Twitter private (presumably vs. other activist hedge fund investors).
Dorsey also took issue with the accusation that he “sold out” in selling the company to Musk, which is a flippant accusation for sure, but especially because, as Dorsey pointed out, public companies are inherently subject to sale and acquisition given the right (or wrong, I suppose, depending on where you sit) market conditions.
