Elon Musk wants 1 billion Twitter users, aims to replicate China's 'WeChat' model

Spi11 The Tea wrote a column · Jun 17, 2022 11:02

Elon Musk addressed $Twitter (Delisted) (TWTR.US)$ employees on Thursday ahead of his $44 billion acquisition of the company.

He reiterated his plans for Twitter, including an ambitious expansion of the user base and belt-tightening on corporate culture.

Most of Musk's points – mostly the remote work situation, concerns over layoffs and the lack of hands-on moderation – reportedly worried employees.

Why Twitter?

Elon when asked why Twitter: "I love Twitter," "I learn a lot from what I learn on Twitter." It's a "great way to get a message out."

"Some people use their hair to express themselves," Musk told the rough 7,500 employees. "I use Twitter."

Musk wants Twitter to reach 1 billion daily active users

Musk informed employees that he wanted to see one billion users on the platform – a target that might take a decade to achieve at the earliest.

Twitter said earlier this year in its Q1 earnings call that it had 229m daily active users.

Musk pointed to Chinese app WeChat as the model he planned to use for Twitter, noting that people in China "basically live on WeChat."

WeChat functions as an all-encompassing platform, with messaging, calling, payment and other functions that have heavily centralized its use in China. WeChat has over 1.2 billion monthly active users, with 78% of people in China aged 16-64 are using the platform.

"If we can recreate that with Twitter, we'll be a great success," he said.

Musk addresses question of possible layoffs at Twitter

Musk said layoffs at Twitter will depend on its financial situation.

"It depends. The company does need to get healthy," Musk said. "Right now the costs exceed the revenue."

Musk said there has to be some rationalization of headcount or else Twitter won't be able to grow.

Musk on remote work

Musk said that while in-person work should be the priority, he would consider an exception for employees who are "excellent contributors."

Maintaining that working from home is a privilege for those doing well, Musk's statements suggest that he's willing to negotiate to retain talent during the Great Resignation.

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Source: CNBC, Fortune, CNN Business

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