Fearless leader or fascist dictator? Elon Musk makes perplexingly bad choices as Twitter's CEO

In another instance of gross mismanagement under its new CEO Elon Musk, Twitter is reportedly planning to introduce drastic changes to its verification pricing model. These changes are specifically meant to target companies looking to protect the integrity of their identity on the platform. 

When we last checked in on Musk, he was in the midst of handling two back-to-back public relations nightmares. One was when he went on a Twitter account banning spree, removing accounts like "@ElonJet" despite promising not to and silencing any journalists who gave weight to the issue on the platform.

This newest incident seems to be reminiscent of the aforementioned scandal. Although it took much longer than I’m sure most companies were comfortable with, Twitter did eventually update its verification system.

Now, the company explicitly says whether a user's check mark was the result of the legitimacy of its status as opposed to being obtained through Twitter Blue (a monthly subscription that allows you to pay for a blue checkmark).

Additionally, it also differentiates check marks based on whether they were for a brand or a specific individual with different colors — people would have blue marks, and companies would have gold. 

In a stunning turn of events, on February 3, social media analyst Matt Navarra reported in a tweet that Twitter began emailing brands currently on the platform that it was looking to begin charging $1,000 for their status as a verified Twitter account.

This report was later corroborated by the technology blog, "The Information," and added that any affiliate account a brand would like to verify would cost an additional $50 per month. 

In another instance of poor managerial skills, reports recently surfaced that Musk fired one of the company's two remaining principal engineers after having been told his tweets were losing engagement.

According to "Platformer," Musk gathered a group of employees for a meeting to discuss why his tweets were reportedly only seen tens of thousands of times in spite of his massive following. When one of the engineers mentioned that Musk’s analytics on Google Trends were nearing an all-time low, Musk fired him on the spot. 

In general, the report by "Platformer" paints a rather grim image of Twitter’s San Francisco office. On top of the company currently dealing with a lawsuit from its office’s landlord over unpaid rent, the company's culture has apparently become so crunch-centered that Musk installed several beds for employees to sleep in at the office to maximize their potential time working. 

This baffling decision came after Musk demanded that employees return to the office despite Twitter having initially been one of the first companies to introduce a work-from-home plan during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. 

Right around the time of Twitter Blue’s paid verification rollout, Musk sent an email to employees offering them an ultimatum: Stay with the company (and agree to be subjected to an "extremely hardcore" environment in doing so), or leave with three months severance pay.

Musk clearly took pointers from former President Donald J. Trump’s book, "The Art of the Deal," as it’s an incredibly stupid offer that makes less sense the more you think about it.

In this scenario, not only would employees be expected to work longer hours but they would also be doing so for no additional benefit. Not to mention, staff would be doing this all under an employer infamous for making unreasonable demands of his staff.