Elon Musk Called Out for Viral Tweet Exchange With a Laid-Off Twitter Employee

Haraldur Thorleifsson, now an ex-employee at Twitter, wrote to Elon Musk seeking clarity over his employment status.

Elon Musk's Twitter exchange with his ex-employee, Haraldur Thorleifsson, went viral.

(Photo Courtesy: The Quint)

Another day, another controversy erupts on Twitter, courtesy Elon Musk. Late last month, another round of layoffs created chaos and confusion among the employees of the microblogging platform.

The employment status of Haraldur Thorleifsson, an Iceland-based entrepreneur and (now a former) Twitter employee, was a case in point.

Haraldur lost access to his work computer one fine day, and after failing to receive a response from the Twitter HR nine days later, he took to Twitter to address his concerns. He tagged Elon Musk, hoping to get some clarity on his employment status.

Haraldur, in his tweet, wrote, "9 days ago the access to my work computer was cut, along with about 200 other Twitter employees. However, your head of HR is not able to confirm if I am an employee or not. You've not answered my emails."

Musk responded to the tweet and asked him what work he was engaged in.

Haraldur replied saying that he would be "happy to discuss his job role openly if he isn't bound by non-disclosure agreements."

What followed was a series of sarcastic digs, with Haraldur pointing fingers at Musk's controversial leadership, and the latter sending a bunch of hostile replies and a video clip.

As Haraldur listed his responsibilities, which included leading "design crits to help level up design across the company" and being a "hiring manager for all design roles," Musk hit back asking for proof of his work.

He wrote, "Pics or it didn't happen."

Elon Musk also shared a clip from the Office Space mocking Haraldur, insinuating that he didn't actually do all the work he just listed.

While Haraldur didn't get a clear response from Musk at the end of their viral exchange, in a separate tweet, he mentioned that the HR finally contacted him and confirmed that he, in fact, has been laid off.

Haraldur wrote that while he respects the company's wish to lay him off, he maintained that firing people without informing them isn't exactly responsible. He ended his thread by taking a final dig at Musk: "Now the next question is if you will make sure I get paid what I'm owed per my contract?!"

Since Haraldur tweeted about this, many people have come out in support for him and have called out Musk for making a spectacle out of his former employee. Read their reactions: