Jack Dorsey, the former CEO and co-founder of Twitter, has recently retracted his previous endorsement of Elon Musk as the right person to lead the company, citing the past six months of self-inflicted crises that have plagued the social media platform.
In a recent interview with Bluesky, Dorsey’s new Twitter-like social media venture, he was asked if he believed Musk was the best possible steward of Twitter, to which he flatly responded, “No.”
Dorsey further added that Musk “should have walked away” from acquiring Twitter for $44 billion, and criticized Twitter’s board in hindsight for trying to compel Musk to follow through with the deal despite his attempts to back out of the purchase last year.
Under Musk’s leadership, Twitter has experienced several service disruptions and controversial changes to its policies, including the recent removal of blue checks from VIP users who don’t pay to be verified.
Dorsey’s sentiments indicate his growing disillusionment with Musk, whom he previously praised for his singular solution to own Twitter. Dorsey also rolled over his more than 18 million shares in Twitter (a roughly 2.4% stake) into the new Musk-owned company as an equity investor, rather than receiving a cash payout.
Now, however, Dorsey appears to have changed his mind and believes Musk was an imperfect choice. In response to criticism from other Bluesky users, Dorsey argued that nothing was stopping someone else from outbidding Musk if they wanted to buy the company.
Dorsey’s reflections on the matter highlight the complexities and challenges of leadership transitions in tech companies, particularly when a single individual or entity holds a significant stake. However, Dorsey believes that the only alternative to Musk’s acquisition was an acquisition by “hedge funds and Wall Street activists” and that Twitter would not have survived as a public company.
