Xerox

• For once, he is on the receiving end as Meta launches its microblogging platform Threads to take advantage of his difficulties at Twitter.
• Twitter, in effect, has been a near-monopoly in the realm of short pithy quotes from the well-known.
• Dorsey was joint founder of the business and someone with more liberal views than Donald Trump.

Paying too much?

• He tried to pull out of the deal realising he had over-bid for the business.
• Boards are often accused of retrenchment when rebuffing bids and looking to protect their own jobs, power, status and pay.
• At the same time, he felt the business was wallowing in cost and could make a better job of attracting advertisers.

Tesla losing out?

• So far, Musk has antagonised virtually all stakeholders of Twitter and irritated other shareholders of Tesla – one of his major successes.
• He scythed through the workforce, reducing the 8,500 employees to 1,500 in a matter of weeks.
• However, she may find her remit limited by a chairman who may want to intervene.

Strategic mistake?

• However, Musk may also have been guilty of strategic mistakes: if a company relies on advertising for revenue, then it needs to maximise users to create advertising reach.
• Charging Tweeters and those reading Tweets is not going to maximise users, because many of them may simply leave.
• While Twitter was undoubtedly heavy on cost before Musk took over, the extent of the staff cuts has left content frequently unmoderated.
• Also, problems are brewing with regulatory authorities around the speed of removal of controversial material that appears on Twitter.
• Unlike the proposed cage fight between Zuckerberg and Musk, this clash of social media companies can’t be settled by a simple knockout.