Elon Musk has offered to cover the legal expenses for individuals who have experienced workplace discrimination due to their activity on the platform X (formerly Twitter).
“If you were unfairly treated by your employer due to posting or liking something on this platform, we will fund your legal bill,” Musk posted on X Saturday evening.
The proposition comes without any financial constraints, with Musk saying there is “no limit,” and X intends to pursue the boards of directors of these companies as well, as stated in messages shared on the platform on Saturday night.
If you were unfairly treated by your employer due to posting or liking something on this platform, we will fund your legal bill.
No limit.
Please let us know.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 6, 2023
The post, which has been viewed by upwards of 115 million users, garnered a slew of users chiming in — both with anecdotes about workplace discrimination in relation to the platform as well as criticism.
“I’m afraid that Elon may have grossly underestimated the number of victims and the cost of this policy,” one user wrote.
Others welcomed the initiative with praise, calling it “beyond awesome” and saying “This is everything.“
The tech CEO acquired Twitter for $44 billion in October 2022 and subsequently rebranded it as X in July 2023.
X CEO Elon Musk said he will cover the legal fees of X users who have faced workplace discrimination due to their activity on the platform. Nathan Laine/Bloomberg | Getty Images
Musk’s behavior on X often pushes the limits of professionalism, but this new policy is in contrast to some of his own company’s past actions. The tech mogul has taken jabs at Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, made remarks against former employees and critics, and suspended journalists.
“There are many independent journalists/creators who got banned from Twitter — me for years — who depended on this platform to fund their independent work and reporting,” one user replied to Musk’s Saturday post.
The billionaire has also used his app to publicly criticize his own employees.
In March, Musk received backlash when he ridiculed former senior director Halli Thorleifsson after the employee sought clarity on their employment status at the company.
Since Musk’s acquisition of Twitter, researchers have found that there has been a significant increase in hateful, violent, and inaccurate posts, Bloomberg reported in July.
In Musk’s first three months as CEO alone, a Center of Countering Digital Hate study found that the frequency of daily tweets containing derogatory language targeting Black Americans more than tripled. From October to March, tweets using slurs and derogatory language against the LGBTQ+ community increased by 119% per the Center of Countering Digital Hate. Over 30% of U.S. adults who used Twitter between March and May encountered content they deemed detrimental to society, according to a report by the USC Marshall Neely Social Media Index.
“This is what defending freedom of speech looks like,” Musk added to his initial post on Saturday.
As for the legal fee proposition, neither Musk nor X has revealed details on the protocol or whether the CEO will honor his statement made on Saturday night.
Entrepreneur is not asking X for comment since the company is now replying to media inquiries with the poop emoji.
Madeline Garfinkle
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