PARANOIA 101

Elon Musk Was Worried Twitter Was Riddled With “Ghost Employees”

The “Chief Twit” relented into giving employes their bonuses before letting them go—on the condition they were proven real.

Elon Musk’s quest to prove humans are actually humans wasn’t limited to Twitter accounts. According to The New York Times, Musk initially wanted to fire thousands of employees before their scheduled Nov. 1 stock bonuses kicked in. But when executives modeled how much more it could cost in legal fees and fines to lay them off without the bonuses, Musk relented—on the condition that managers confirm the employees getting them were “real humans.” His concern, according to the Times, was that “ghost employees” remained on Twitter’s payroll and would reap those costs. Twitter’s chief accounting officer Robert Kaiden led the review, and no one was fired before the Nov. 1 date. The day after, however, Kaiden was booted.