CHAOS appears to have erupted on Twitter and at its offices following an ultimatum Elon Musk issued to employees.
RIPTwitter was trending on the site over fears it would shut down after the deadline imposed by Musk for his workers.
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Musk, whose recent acquisition of Twitter has already caused notable changes within the company, issued an ultimatum that has reportedly resulted in mass resignations.
The New York Times reported that employees were given until 5pm on Thursday to respond to his request.
Hundreds of employees reportedly rejected the ultimatum just weeks after about half of the company’s 7,500 employees were laid off upon Musk’s takeover.
The walkout by remaining employees is likely to affect Twitter’s ability to operate, The Washington Post reports.
Musk issued the ultimatum by email and reportedly told the remaining Twitter staff that they must fully commit themselves to an “extremely hardcore” approach moving forward.
“If you are sure that you want to be part of the new Twitter, please click yes on the link below,” it reportedly read.
Musk seemingly intends to work his new Twitter employees as hard as possible per the rest of the details he included in this company-wide email, The Washington Post reported.
He said that extremely hardcore Twitter involves “working long hours at high intensity,” and said peak performance will earn a good grade.
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“Only exceptional performance will constitute a passing grade,” Musk allegedly wrote.
Reported resignations have prompted fears that the social media site will shut down, along with an announcement from Musk that Twitter offices would be closed through Monday and badge access would be suspended.
The Post reports that employees who opted to decline the ultimatum will receive three months’ severance pay.
Employees speaking anonymously told the outlet that many coworkers were saying their goodbyes in the company’s Slack channels on Thursday.
MUSK RESPONDS
As users flooded the site with “goodbyes” in anticipation of a possible “collapse,” Musk tweeted throughout the evening.
“we just hit another all-time high in Twitter usage lol,” he tweeted just after 11pm ET.
Musk’s tweets included a meme depicting Twitter’s death and funeral.
Twitter users continued to tweet at Musk asking questions about the future of the app.
Dave Portnoy, founder of Barstool Sports, tweeted: “What do people mean when they say Twitter is gonna shut down? Doesn’t it kinda run itself? I feel like engineers are for changes not to just keep it running? I also don’t know anything. Hey @elonmusk
wanna do a Twitter space with me? Im confused.”
Musk responded: “The best people are staying, so I’m not super worried.”
‘WORTHLESS BILLIONAIRE’
As the social media site blew up with memes and farewells, a projection was spotted on headquarters.
A video circulating on social media from Twitter HQ shows a projection of Musk’s name followed by a variety of rude phrases, including “supreme parasite,” “worthless billionaire,” and “bankruptcy baby.”
The hashtag #RIPTwitter also began trending.
“It’s been a pleasure tweeting with y’all for the past 13 years. #RIPTwitter,” one person wrote.
“Me looking back at my three followers one last time since Twitter about to shut down #RIPTwitter #TwitterDown,” another said.
“Ugh, end of an era. #RIPTwitter,” said another.
Even celebrities hopped on the trend and sent a possible final tweet.
“If the end is here, let me say I’ve enjoyed our good mornings and been honored to be the Andy that had @Andy #RIPTwitter,” wrote Andy Cohen.
