The Billionaire did What?
In October of 2022, Elon Musk bought the social media platform Twitter for $44 billion. With this, he has made quite a few controversial changes. As of the past couple of weeks, there is no longer a press department for Twitter. This has rose many questions for the Twitter community. It was stated that those who did not quit after this new contract was signed, were fired by Musk. There is no longer any way for those of the outside world to communicate inside the Twitter operational world.
Public Relations Aspect
This is a perfect example of (or lack of) public relations. Public relations is what keeps businesses up and running. Building relationships with crucial audiences, increasing your company's authority, and eventually growing your business are all possible with PR. Without public relations, Musk will be in charge of handling backlash, changes, controversies, social deals, and all other aspects of Twitter and his personal image within the Twitter world by himself. It is no question that Musk is a successful business man, but can he really run Twitter this way?
The Impact
It is also a question as to why Musk would decide to make this change. Not having to hire as many employees? Getting rid of the "bad" press? Whatever the concept was, is quite a risky one. Without press reaching the outside world, Musk could potentially miss out on upcoming business opportunities and other large proposals. A question of Musk's morality can easily come up with this topic as well. Why would he fire so many people in this department? Was it to make more money for himself? What does he have to hide from the press? No matter what the issue is, Musk will be help responsible for having to clear his own name, as well as Twitter's. It has been stated that he is not yet reaching out to outside press or answering any questions regarding this Twitter deal. This confusion can lead to decreased Twitter users within the upcoming months. If anything controversial happens in the future, it can also impact his other businesses Tesla and Space X. Without press and a public relations team, Musk can do himself more bad than good. It is not only more work for him, but he is missing out on many public advertisement oppurtunities. Not such a great way to start off as the new owner of Twitter!
Article from the New York Times
Bernstein, J. (2023, February 6). For better and for worse, Elon Musk is his own spokesman. The New York Times. Retrieved February 8, 2023, from https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/06/style/elon-musk-public-relations.html
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