Elon Musk Openly Apologizes To the Disabled Ex-Worker and Offers Him His Job Back

An interesting story came out of Musk-owned Twitter after which Elon Musk came out apologized which is one of the most unique sights considering his multi-billionaire worth and rock-solid attitude. Twitter chief executive Elon Musk has apologized over an exchange he had on the platform with an employee.

It came after worker Halli Thorleifsson tweeted to Mr. Musk saying: “Your head of HR is not able to confirm if I am employed or not”.

Mr. Musk responded by asking: “What work have you been doing?”

Mr. Musk followed that Twitter conversation with a tweet on Tuesday describing Mr. Thorleifsson as “the worst” before deleting it.

Instead, after nine days of no answer from Twitter as to whether or not he was still employed, While the exchange was going on, Thorleifsson said he received an email that he was no longer employed.

Late Tuesday afternoon, however, Musk had a change of heart.

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

Thorleifsson did not immediately respond to a message for comment following Musk’s tweet. In an earlier email, he called the experience “surreal.”

“You had every right to lay me off. But it would have been nice to let me know!” he tweeted to Musk.

“He is considering remaining at Twitter,” he added.

Thorleifsson lives in Iceland and has about 151,000 Twitter followers. He joined Twitter in 2021, when the company, under the prior management, acquired his startup, Ueno.

He was lauded in Icelandic media for choosing to receive the purchase price in wages rather than a lump sum payout. That’s because this way, he would pay higher taxes to Iceland in support of its social services and safety net.

Thorleifsson’s next move: “I’m opening a restaurant in downtown Reykjavik very soon,” he tweeted. “It’s named after my mom.”

Twitter did not immediately respond to a message for comment.

Some of Mr. Thorleifsson’s former colleagues could not understand why he had been singled out for such public criticism.

Photographer Daniel Houghton tweeted:

“As someone who has worked directly with Halli Thorleifsson during a turnaround, this is super disappointing to see. Not only is his work ethic next level, but his talent and humility are also world-class.”

Mr. Musk replied: “Based on your comment, I just did a video call with Halli to figure out what’s real vs what I was told. It’s a long story. Better to talk to people than communicate via tweet.”