In a humble corner of Twitter’s San Francisco HQ, the newly hailed CEO, Floki, Elon Musk’s trusted canine, rules the roost. Look, tech ain’t your bestie, but our newsletter is – so get on board The Tech Friend train. Choo Choo! ArrowRight

In a total off-the-cuff chit-chat with the BBC, Musk (probably second in command to his doggo CEO) covered heaps of juicy topics, like how Twitter is misinforming the masses since he’s held the reins, a totally made-up emerald mine owned by his fam, and some super late-night Twitter blunders (“I think I should not tweet after 3 a.m.,” he said).

Six months into his reign, Musk’s got his paws on some lessons learned, like chopping costs and ousting two-thirds of the workforce. Oof! “It’s been quite painful. But I think, at the end of the day, it should have been done,” Musk said of the layoffs. “Were there many mistakes made along the way? Of course, you know. But all’s well that ends well.”

Twitter’s had a total makeover since Elon conquered the social media kingdom. The electric car and rocket launcher extraordinaire is currently the world’s second-richest dude, so why not shake things up on Twitter? He’s been tinkering with Twitter’s nuts and bolts like a subscription model where your special blue checkmark can be yours for $8 – but at what cost?! The platform has also dropped some crucial safety checks, giving misinformation a wild ride.

When grilled about the layoffs, Elon said it was either cut them or the company goes belly-up. Straight from the dog’s mouth: Twitter’s down to just 1,500 staffers from over 7,000 before Musk stepped in.

Elon admitted that some thorny problems had cropped up. Remember that data center snafu in December? “It was quite catastrophic,” Musk said, noting that Twitter rushed to restore it.

But hey, there’s been some good stuff too: Twitter’s recommendation algorithm went open source, giving everyone a peek into your user-feed brain. Plus, Twitter’s been trucking on, financially stable-ish, and advertisers are coming back! “Many have predicted Twitter will cease to function,” Musk said. “Their predictions have not come true. … We’re literally on Twitter now.”

The BBC chat took place on Twitter Spaces, the company’s live audio feature. Musk said Twitter had reconsidered its decision to label accounts including the BBC and NPR as “state-affiliated media.” The state-affiliated label has traditionally been used by Twitter to describe government-run propaganda outlets, such as Russia’s Sputnik and RT and the Chinese Communist Party’s People’s Daily. Twitter has since relabeled the accounts of BBC and NPR as “government funded.”

When pressed about misinformation and hate speech on Twitter, Elon got super heated, since the journalist didn’t have any concrete examples. “You said you see more hateful content, but you can’t even name a single one,” Musk said. “You just lied!” Cue a back-and-forth, with Musk demanding: “one example! You literally can’t name one.” Awkward.

The Washington Post reported that racist tweets quickly surged on Twitter after Elon’s takeover. Last month, The Post reported that Twitter was amplifying hate speech in its “For You” page, the curated timeline where it recommends posts to users based on their interests. A Post analysis showed that users who were already following accounts designated as “extremist” or “extremist-associated” were subsequently shown additional hate-promoting tweets, including a tweet with a quote and portrait of Adolf Hitler, by accounts they did not follow.

After that exchange, the topic shifted to covid, which Musk declared “no longer an issue.”

Lighthearted (or is it?) moment: Musk joked about Floki as the true CEO of Twitter. When seriously asked if he’d step down, Musk replied with a resounding “I did! My dog is the CEO of Twitter.”

The Tesla boss has also gotten himself into some hot water with his own tweeting antics. He admits to “shooting himself in the foot with tweets” – but, no bulletproof shoes as of yet.

Apparently, Twitter’s looking into some super-duper smart AI, but Elon denies any personal bias when making decisions about the platform’s rules.

Love him or hate him, Musk’s impact on Twitter is undeniable. In the end, Musk said it best regarding critics who predicted Twitter’s demise, “they were wrong.” Happy wagging, Floki!