Elon Musk’s first year of owning Twitter – looking back on a tumultuous timeline
Start with the big idea and deal with any issues down the line.
That was the assessment of Elon Musk biographer Michael Vlismas a year ago when asked how the world’s richest man might go about running Twitter.
The SpaceX owner had just bought the bird app for $44bn (£38bn) with a vague goal of transforming it into an “everything app” called X.
Modelled on China‘s WeChat, it could become your one-stop shop for not just getting into arguments online and posting memes, but video calls, podcasts, and even banking.
All while being an internet town square, committed to free speech, where anyone’s views have as much cache as a celebrity, news outlet, or academic – no matter how controversial.
A noble goal, many would argue.
But as Vlismas had indicated, a plan light on detail. And the execution – from huge lay-offs to putting verification behind subscriptions – has been debatable at best.
“He always has a grand vision, but in this instance the details have been a quagmire for him,” says Vlismas.
“Perhaps it’s showing you can’t be everything to everyone – and that’s the challenge with an ‘everything app’.
“It’s got to be a clear vision in terms of what he wants out of it.”
Elon Musk has brought some big changes to the platform formerly known as Twitter
A tumultuous timeline
Musk’s own Twitter timeline was rarely dull, so perhaps it should come as no surprise that once he ruled the roost, Twitter’s own timeline would follow suit.
His first act (other than carrying a sink into the firm’s San Francisco HQ for the sake of a bad pun) was firing executives and thousands of employees quickly suffered the same fate.
Skittish advertisers, concerned about Musk’s stance on content moderation, helped see revenues fall and within a month even the prospect of bankruptcy was being mooted.
Musk’s flagship attempt to drive up company income was to offer verification ticks as a paid-for benefit in a subscription that has expanded to include features like an edit button and longer posts.
A fake Tony Blair, OJ Simpson, and very naughty Super Mario later, it was clear there were flaws in this plan to allow anyone to pay to add the once-respected blue tick to their account.
According to analysis by research group AMPLYFI, which used AI to judge user sentiment on Twitter over time, the furore was “the initial catalyst for things turning sour” for much of the platform’s audience.
“It created chaos,” says Drew Benvie, founder of communications agency Battenhall.
“People don’t know if they’re talking to the real deal.”
Ahead of a year that will include a US presidential election, and with ever-improving AI deepfakes, it’s an issue that could become even more serious.
Many famous faces were initially left without a blue tick when Musk changed the policy
Other changes have included reinstating banned accounts like those of Andrew Tate and Donald Trump, raising further concerns about the proliferation of hate speech on the platform.
The Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), a group X has sued over its damning assessments of its content moderation standards, says Musk has welcomed back a host of bad actors “with open arms”.
Speaking to mark the Muskiversary, CCDH founder Imran Ahmed condemned it as a “grave betrayal of users, advertisers and the wider public”.
That, coupled with the gutting of the company’s trust and safety teams, damaged Twitter’s reputation as a place to seek out verified news – an issue brought home by the Israel-Hamas war.
And then, of course, came rebranding Twitter into X.
A name so embedded in modern society that “tweet” had entered the Oxford and Cambridge dictionaries, now one which would have once done nothing but arouse suspicion in your browsing history.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Twitter sign removed in ‘X’ rebrand
‘He has decimated the business’
Musk said Twitter’s transition from talking shop to everything app meant the name no longer made sense, and has claimed the rebranding reflects his ambitions.
Of course, some may have spotted an obvious trend and concluded he simply likes the letter X.
Not only is it part of the name of his successful rocket company, but one of his children; his AI start-up; and an internet banking firm he co-founded that became PayPal.
Social media expert Beth Caroll, of Wunderman Thompson, is sceptical of Musk’s apparent plans.
“There’s a vague possibility he could have this bigger picture idea, this super app like a WeChat, and if he were to deliver that then he might have a viable product,” she says.
“But for now he has just decimated the business.”
Indeed, earlier this year the company was valued at less than a third of the $44bn Musk paid for it.
Even the hiring of Linda Yaccarino, an experienced figure from NBCUniversal, as chief executive has done little to repair the monetary or reputational damage.
It’s worth remembering, Caroll says, that Musk did try awfully hard to back out of buying Twitter, and all the challenges he’s faced are perhaps a sign of why.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Musk to start charging people to use X
Can Musk really have it all?
Yet despite it all, for its remaining users – whether enthusiastic or reluctant – X remains best at this particular type of social media, where real-time updates reign supreme.
For Dr Annmarie Hanlon, lecturer in digital and social marketing at Cranfield School of Management, would-be rivals from the “clunky” Mastodon to Meta‘s “basic” Threads have failed to offer a comparable experience.
“The everything app is still a work in progress,” she says.
“But when Threads opened, everyone said ‘this is the death of Twitter’. And it hasn’t been.”
Of course, given the contempt Musk and Mark Zuckerberg have for each other, don’t expect the Meta boss to abandon his company’s new app anytime soon.
Meta’s Threads emerged as a rival to X over the summer
And when it comes to “the death of Twitter”, Musk would happily claim responsibility, with X the phoenix rising from its ashes.
But unlike the rockets of SpaceX (well, most of them), biographer Vlismas doubts how far it can fly.
“With SpaceX, the grand vision is colonising Mars,” he says.
“But the core purpose is launching rockets into space and it’s very effective at that.
“If you wanted to do anything else with it, it dilutes that purpose.
“The longer X is a bit muddled like this, the worse it is. And the more people will turn away.”
US
‘Immigration is killing Europe’: Donald Trump issues warning to leaders as he arrives in Scotland
Donald Trump has landed in Scotland ahead of a four-day trip, which includes high-level meetings, praising Sir Keir Starmer as “a good man” but also calling illegal migration a “horrible invasion” that was “killing Europe”.
Crowds gathered at Prestwick Airport in Ayrshire amid a major security operation for the US president’s visit.
Mr Trump told reporters: “I like your prime minister. He’s slightly more liberal than I am… but he’s a good man… he got a trade deal done. It’s a good deal for the UK.”
Trump latest: Donald Trump arrives in Scotland
The pair are expected to discuss potential changes to the UK-US trade deal which came into force last month.
Trump left Air Force One to head to Turnberry, one of his Scottish golf courses. Part of the trip will include the opening of another course in Aberdeenshire, billed as “the greatest 36 holes in golf”.
Trump supporters waved as Air Force One landed. Pic: PA
“There’s no place like Turnberry. It’s the best, probably the best course in the world. And I would say Aberdeen is right up there,” the US president said.
“Sean Connery helped get me the [planning] permits. If it weren’t for Sean Connery, we wouldn’t have those great courses,” he added.
During the trip, President Trump will also hold discussions with Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who is keen to secure a trade deal with the US.
Donald Trump spoke to reporters after landing at Prestwick Airport, Ayrshire. Pic: AP
Mr Trump told reporters there was “a good 50-50 chance” of an agreement with the EU but added there were “maybe 20 different” sticking points.
EU diplomats say a deal could result in a broad 15% tariff on EU goods and half of the 30% Trump is threatening to impose by 1 August.
He travelled to Turnberry, one of his Scottish golf resorts, amid tight security. Pic: Reuters
The US president touched on illegal immigration and gave European leaders a stark warning.
“You better get your act together or you’re not going to have Europe anymore. You got to get your act together,” he said.
“But you’re allowing it to happen to your countries and you got to stop this horrible invasion that’s happening to Europe. Immigration is killing Europe,” he told reporters.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
What do Scots think of Trump visit?
He was also scathing about the installation of wind turbines across Europe.
“Stop the windmills. You’re ruining your countries,” he said. “It’s so sad. You fly over and you see these windmills all over the place, ruining your beautiful fields and valleys and killing your birds.”
Read more from Sky News:
Epstein risks following Trump
Ghislaine Maxwell questioned
Epstein questions keep coming
Domestically, President Trump faces the biggest political crisis of his second term in office over his administration’s handling of files linked to disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who died in prison in 2019.
He faced another round of questions after stepping off Air Force One. “You’re making a big thing over something that’s not a big thing. I’m focused on making deals, not on conspiracy theories that you are,” he said.
Mr Trump added that “now’s not the time” to discuss a pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s imprisoned accomplice.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Trump in Scotland amid Epstein storm
👉 Follow Trump100 on your podcast app 👈
While the president’s visit did attract some enthusiastic flag-waving supporters at Prestwick Airport, he is also likely to trigger a number of protests, prompting Police Scotland to call in support from other forces in the UK.
The Stop Trump Scotland group has planned demonstrations on Saturday in Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dumfries.
About 70% of Scots have an unfavourable opinion of Trump, while 18% have a positive opinion, an Ipsos poll in March found.
President Trump is staying at his Turnberry property on Scotland’s west coast this weekend, before travelling to Aberdeenshire on Monday, where he will open a second 18-hole course.
He is due to return to the UK in September for a state visit hosted by the King – the first world leader in modern times to undertake two UK state visits.
I knew Donald Trump when he was nothing.
Nothing like he is today, to be precise.
It was the 18 April 2006, and he had landed by helicopter at St Andrew’s, on his way to survey a stretch of Aberdeenshire coastline he was going to turn into a golf course.
He duly delivered and “Trump International” is a stunning addition to Scotland’s golfing real estate, alongside his other course at Turnberry.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
What do Scots think of Trump visit?
Back in 2006, Trump was big time and big news.
He was the brand built on property and showbiz and, upon arrival, the star of TV’s The Apprentice breezed his way through our interview, obliging us by pointing down the barrel of the camera and delivering his trademark “you’re fired”.
We talked investment, Scottish roots and some local objections to the golf course.
I said it was all a bit like the film Local Hero, which likened him to the rich guy played by Burt Lancaster and he seemed happy enough.
Innocent times.
In 2006, the host of The Apprentice delivering his trademark ‘you’re fired’ finger point while visiting Aberdeenshire. File pic: PA
Donald Trump promoting his plans for a golf course on the Menie Estate near Aberdeen in 2010
Fast forward 20 years to President Trump and we are braced for his latest return ‘home’. For this son of Scotland (his mother is from the Isle of Lewis), it’s a homecoming from hell. Hellish on security logistics, at least.
You might think a trip to the old country would carry an element of triumph, wrapped in a nation’s pride. He’s the prodigal who made president, after all – think Biden, Ireland, and the rock star welcome rolled out there for one of their own.
Not so for President Trump. The dynamic’s different with the Donald – the heartland he’ll visit isn’t loved up, it’s locked down. Same as it ever was, whenever he lands in Scotland.
The US president at his Turnberry course in 2023 amid tight security. PA file pic
File pic: PA
Hundreds of extra police officers have been drafted from around the country to hermetically seal his golf courses in Turnberry and Aberdeenshire. A private trip in two very public settings demands a huge security operation, complicated by an army of protestors mobilising for what they’re calling a “carnival of resistance”.
Demonstrations are planned over a range of causes – organisers cite “threats” to democracy, climate, the global economy and more.
Protestors in 2023 gather at Trump’s Turnberry resort during his visit. File pic: PA
Demonstrations, like this one in 2018, near Turnberry require policing. File pic: AP
Comic Simon Brodkin, appearing in character as Lee Nelson, is led away by security during an anti-Trump protest at Turnberry in 2016. File pic: Reuters
There is no cause untouched by a president of the US and none forgotten by this weekend’s protests.
Scotland leans left of Donald Trump, and critics will lean into an effort to let him know.
It’s an awkward setting for a charm offensive by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney.
As the biggest show in politics rolls into town, they will polish the script on trade negotiations, wary of a president distracted, unpredictable and prone to changing the plot.
His distraction, of course, is the political drama back home.
Read more from Sky News:
Epstein questions remain for Trump
Trump knew he appears in Epstein files
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
Trump will welcome a weekend under the radar as an opportunity to escape the Jeffrey Epstein controversy, but there’s every chance the story will travel with him.
Daily efforts to steer the media away from the scandal haven’t stemmed the flow of persistent enquiry and revelations that cement Trump’s relationship with Epstein in the public consciousness, and so further raise questions of cover-up.
Donald Trump likes a wall. And now he has his very own 15ft-high metal barrier creating a fortress as he tees off for a weekend of politics, play and precision in Scotland.
An almost surreal contrast now exists in the tiny Ayrshire village of Turnberry.
On one side, the stunning coastline and luxury hotel that bears the president’s name. And on the other, an armed buffer zone with sniper teams and road checkpoints.
This visit is unlike those that have gone before.
The threat level and associated security on display is unprecedented following the attempted assassination of Trump at a campaign rally in the US.
“It would be inappropriate for me to plan an operation and not bear in mind what has happened,” the senior officer in charge of this weekend’s policing efforts told me.
Military trucks are part of a security effort that comes just a year after an attempted assassination
A ‘counter terror’ firm was spotted near the area, which is ringed by a 15ft fence
Turnberry, and its population of about 200 people, have this week witnessed a never-ending stream of Army trucks, terrorist sweeps, road checkpoints, airspace restrictions, sniper positions being erected and Secret Service agents roaming around.
It is the most extensive security deployment in Scotland since the death of the late Queen in 2022.
It is estimated around 5,000 officers will be on the streets, with teams coming from across the UK to assist.
The spectacle primarily centres on Donald Trump coming to play golf before the arrival of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer for talks, likely on Monday.
The president, whose mother was born on the Scottish island of Lewis, is then scheduled to travel to his Aberdeenshire resort where a new golf course is set to open.
Police on buggies are patrolling near the course on Scotland’s east coast
Police have even taped off a clothes recycling bin near the course
‘Trump is a decent boss’
Stephanie Campbell and Leanne Maxwell live in Turnberry and used to work at the Trump-owned resort, like many other locals.
The pair told Sky News the very first lesson staff at the resort are given is not in fine service or guest etiquette, but in how to respond to a bomb threat.
It is claimed there are posters above the landline phones in the hotel with instructions on the worst-case scenario.
Stephanie Campbell and Leanne Maxwell say staff are trained in dealing with bomb threats
Stephanie told Sky News: “I had no issues working for him, he is a really decent boss.
“The last time he came there was an element of excitement, I think this time there comes with an added element of concern.
“It brings a lot higher threats and security and it’s much more difficult for everybody in the area.”
Mr Trump at Turnberry in 2018 – he will also visit his Aberdeen course on this trip. Pic: AP
File pic: Reuters
Echoing her concerns, Leanne told Sky News: “Security is obviously being bumped up. It’s quite worrying. He’s quite a man, ain’t he?”
Sweeps of the rooms are carried out by US Secret Service agents after housekeeping staff complete their duties and Trump’s meals, they say, are prepared by a personal chef to avoid the risk of poisoning.
To the outside world, these measures seem standard for a US president. But to those who live in Turnberry, it’s far from normal when they have a date with the commander-in-chief.
Marine One is in place awaiting the president’s arrival
File pic: Reuters
Awkward encounters
Prestwick Airport has become something of an American airbase in recent days.
The infamous armoured limousine, known as “The Beast”, has been spotted being wheeled out of a US military plane as the presidential motorcade prepares for his arrival tonight.
Greeting the president at the doors of Air Force One will be the secretary of state for Scotland, Ian Murray, who previously supported a motion alleging Trump was guilty of “misogynism, racism and xenophobia”.
Another awkward encounter could come in the form of Scottish First Minister John Swinney’s showdown with Mr Trump next week.
Read more from Sky News:
Trump told in May his name in Epstein files – report
Trump says US will ‘win’ AI race as plan unveiled
The SNP leader, who publicly backed Kamala Harris in the presidential race, called for September’s state visit to be scrapped after the Ukrainian president’s visit to the White House descended into a shouting match live on TV earlier this year.
Demonstrations are planned throughout the weekend, with marches and protests announced in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen.
Kirsty Haigh, from Scotland Against Trump, claims the president uses Scotland to “cleanse his image” and he should not be able to use the country as an “escape” from his views.
She told Sky News: “He should not be welcomed by us, by our leaders.
“We want to see a Scotland that is very different than [the] America that’s being created.”
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Sports2 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike