• News
  • Film and TV
  • Music
  • Tech
  • Features
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Weird
  • Community
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
Elon Musk apologizes to disabled worker after claiming he did no work

Home> News

Updated 11:57 8 Mar 2023 GMTPublished 11:56 8 Mar 2023 GMT

Elon Musk apologizes to disabled worker after claiming he did no work

The Twitter owner has come under fire for his treatment of employee Hallie Thorleifsson on the social media platform.

Katherine Sidnell

Katherine Sidnell

Billionaire Elon Musk has been forced to backtrack after he claimed that an employee did no work and was the ‘worst’ in several tweets.

The social media spat went on for several hours and caught the public’s attention, as the Space X owner seemingly mocked the disabled entrepreneur on Twitter.

It began with Thorleifsson asking whether or not he was still employed by the social media platform, as he’d struggled to get a straight answer from HR.

Advert

Elon Musk seemingly mocked the employee during a lengthy Twitter spat.
Bob Daemmrich / Alamy Stock Photo

Tagging Musk in a tweet, he said: "Your head of HR is not able to confirm if I am employed or not."

To which the Twitter owner replied: "What work have you been doing?"

Though Thorleifsson explained and listed everything he’d done to improve Twitter, including cutting major costs for the company, he was almost immediately dismissed.

Advert

In one tweet, Musk appeared to mock the entrepreneur by asking if he was a ‘people person’ and shared a clip of 90’s film Office Space, which showed an employee struggling to say what they did.

He also called Thorleifsson ‘the worst’ in a now deleted tweet.

Elon Musk dismissed the man, despite Twitter buying Thorleifsson's company.
Twitter/@elonmusk

During the heated discussion, Thorleifsson said that he received an email saying that he was no longer employed.

Advert

He then asked whether he would be reimbursed for his contribution to the company.

He angrily tweeted at the Twitter owner, saying: “…will @elonmusk, one of the richest people in the world, try to avoid paying?”

It was then Musk who made several accusations about Thorleifsson, writing: “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.”

Thorleifsson has muscular dystrophy and in response, he tweeted about the struggles that he goes through on a day-to-day basis.

Advert

Unsurprisingly, Musk was forced to backtrack and just hours later, he seemed to be offering him his job back.

Hallie fought back after being questioned by the billionaire.
Twitter/@iamharaldur

In a lengthy apology, Musk wrote: "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," the owner added.

Advert

Musk also said that he spoke to Thorleifsson on a video call to 'figure out what is real vs what I was told'.

"Better to talk to people than communicate via tweet." he said.

However, it is still unclear if Thorleifsson has returned to the company.

UNILAD has reached out to Twitter for comment.

Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock/@iamharaldur/Twitter

Topics: Elon Musk, News, Twitter

Katherine Sidnell
Katherine Sidnell

Katherine is an entertainment journalist with a love of all things nerdy. Starting out writing Doctor Who fan fiction as a kid, she has gone on to interview the likes of Matt Damon, James May and Dua Lipa to name a few. Published in The Sun, The Daily Mail and Evening Standard - she now joins Ladbible as resident nerd in chief.

X

@ksidnell

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

7 mins ago
27 mins ago
an hour ago
  • 7 mins ago

    Family win $100,000 in settlement after being accused of not paying $200 bill

    Peter and Ann McGirr were slammed in a Facebook post which falsely claimed they hadn't paid their bill

    News
  • 27 mins ago

    Chilling story of man who told family he was leaving with aliens and hasn't been seen since

    What happened to Granger Taylor has remained a mystery for 45 years

    News
  • an hour ago

    People think Trump accidentally said too much as he discusses how much money he made in interview

    President Donald Trump made bold claims about how much he's earned, after being asked about President Vladimir Putin ignoring his threats

    News
  • an hour ago

    Horrifying study reveals daily habit that millions of people do every day could cause brains to shrink

    It's even more common than scrolling on your phone...

    News
  • Elon Musk sparks outrage after retweeting post claiming Hitler and Mao 'didn't murder millions'
  • Elon Musk addresses rumors that he's 'a Nazi' following controversial salute at Trump rally
  • Elon Musk ignites controversy after making X likes private
  • Elon Musk successfully wins vote to construct his own city in US state as part of plan to 'colonize Mars'