Elon Musk has rejected a New York Times story that he intends to lay off Twitter employees before the beginning of the following month to avoid having to make compensation.
In response to a Twitter user’s inquiry over the report, he stated, “This is incorrect.”
After months of legal fighting, Mr. Musk completed his $44 billion (£37.9 billion) acquisition of the social networking company last week.
The buyout resulted in the departure of the company’s top executives, including its CEO, chairman, and finance head.
The New York Times reported over the weekend that Mr. Musk had authorized widespread employment layoffs at Twitter.
The publication reported that the layoffs would occur before November 1, when staff was scheduled to receive substantial grants of company stock as part of their compensation packages.
The takeover has spurred Twitter users to speculate on the platform’s future appearance under Mr. Musk’s leadership.
Some have expressed worry that more permissive free speech policies could lead to the readmission of those banned for hate speech or disinformation.
Mr. Musk stated last week that he does not wish for the platform to become an echo chamber for hatred and discord. “Twitter cannot become a free-for-all hellscape where anything can be spoken without repercussions,” he tweeted.
However, after refuting the New York Times report on job losses, Mr. Musk tweeted a screenshot of a New York Times headline claiming that he had posted a link to a “website known to promote false news.”
The headline of the New York Times linked to a response that Mr. Musk sent and then removed over the weekend in response to a tweet by former US presidential contender Hillary Clinton.
His response included a link to a conspiracy theory regarding an assault on Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul Pelosi.
Separately, in answer to a query concerning users obtaining verified on the site and earning the coveted so-called “blue check mark,” he stated that the process will be altered.
Mr. Musk stated, without elaboration, that the entire verification procedure is undergoing a makeover.
It was stated that the company intended to charge users for verification.
Mr. Musk also initiated a Twitter poll asking his over 112 million followers if he should revive the short-video application Vine.
In 2012, Twitter acquired the service that allowed users to share six-second looping recordings.
It had more than 200 million active members by the end of 2015 before the social media site discontinued it.
Mr. Musk has previously conducted polls to determine whether he should sell 10 percent of his stock in the electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla and if Twitter should have an edit button.
