‘It’s a Free Country’: Musk Says He’s Not Concerned About Twitter Employees Quitting

Billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk made headlines recently with his bid to buy Twitter.

While many fans support his vision for emphasizing free speech on the social media platform, plenty of critics are convinced that he will make things worse.

For Musk’s part, it doesn’t really matter what the naysayers think about his plans.

He recently weighed in on reports that a number of Twitter employees are prepared to quit if and when he takes over.

According to Business Insider:

Musk was asked about a potential exodus of employees while on the red carpet at the Met Gala on Monday, Reuters reported.

“It’s a free country,” Musk responded, per Reuters.

“Certainly if anyone doesn’t feel comfortable with that, they will on their own accord, go somewhere else. That’s fine,” he added, Reuters reported.

Twitter said in a filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission Monday that one of the risks associated with Musk’s planned acquisition was a potential loss of staff.

“We may experience a departure of employees, prior to the closing of the merger,” Twitter wrote in the filing.

Of course, plenty of Twitter users are enthusiastic about Musk’s bid to take the reins.

It’s not a coincidence the White House launched its Minister of Truth immediately after Elon Musk bought Twitter and backed free speech.

— Rep. Darrell Issa (@repdarrellissa) May 1, 2022

In the same week that we got good news for free speech with Elon Musk buying Twitter, the Biden administration launched a brazen attack on free speech by creating a Ministry of Truth headed up by someone who is no stranger to spreading disinformation.

— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) May 2, 2022

Bill Maher rips Twitter: "I'd much rather have Elon Musk making the rules than a 23-year-old who can't take the joke… Their standard of free speech is 'I'm uncomfortable.' That's not where the standard is, right?" https://t.co/XLSAqgX7Bf #FoxNews

— Andrea Jackson TV 📺🇺🇸 (@AJacksonTV) April 30, 2022

CRISIS: Obama and Clinton and Biden Target Free Speech – And Worry About @ElonMusk! #Twitter pic.twitter.com/WdKSlgFIVp

— Tom Fitton (@TomFitton) April 28, 2022

Some Musk supporters believe the Biden administration had him in mind when creating what has been described as a Ministry of Truth.

National Review recently weighed in on Joe Biden’s efforts to combat so-called disinformation:

War is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength, etc. The problem with unaccountable government bureaucrats defining “disinformation” is that their definition inevitably encompasses true information that just happens to run contrary to their ideological priors. And if policing false or misleading claims is now the purview of the Department of Homeland Security, why shouldn’t the next Republican president use the new “disinformation” bureaucracy to go after the allegations of widespread voter suppression that will inevitably follow his or her victory? After all, disinformation about the sanctity of our electoral process is an existential threat to democracy . . . right?

Whether Musk’s Twitter takeover actually had any impact on this development is still up for debate.

Nevertheless, at least one of his fellow tech billionaires is publicly expressing concerns about the future of the social media site.

According to CNBC:

Bill Gates has warned that Elon Musk could make Twitter “worse” after the Tesla CEO pledged to buy the social media firm for $44 billion.

Speaking at the Wall Street Journal’s CEO Summit Wednesday, Gates said it’s unclear how Musk will change Twitter if he takes ownership while also raising concerns about the spread of misinformation on social media platforms.

The Microsoft co-founder admitted that Musk’s track record at other companies is impressive, hailing his time at the helm of Tesla and SpaceX as “mind-blowing.” Gates said he believed Musk had done a good job of putting together a great team of engineers at those companies.

“I kind of doubt that will happen this time, but we should have an open mind and never underestimate Elon,” he said.

Fox News Channel host Tucker Carlson, on the other hand, described Musk’s bid as “good news” in a recent segment of his program.