Elon Musk mocks Twitter employee with disability who was unsure if he had been laid off
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Twitter CEO Elon Musk spoke openly and dismissively of the worker’s disability to other people on Twitter.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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New York - A Twitter employee trying to gain clarity as to whether he had been fired was mocked by chief executive Elon Musk, who chatted openly and dismissively about the worker’s disability status to other people on Twitter – before apologising a day later.
Mr Halli Thorleifsson, a senior director whose design company Ueno was bought by Twitter in 2021, tweeted at Mr Musk on Monday that his access to a work computer had been revoked, and that he was not able to receive an answer from human resources as to whether he still worked at the company.
In public replies, Mr Musk asked what kind of work Mr Thorleifsson was doing and what its value was, then sent memes and emoji mocking Thorleifsson’s responses.
Mr Thorleifsson later said human resources reached out to him and confirmed he was no longer a Twitter employee.
Mr Musk then publicly discussed Mr Thorleifsson’s disability with a third party in a separate tweet.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) mandates that employers keep their employees’ disability status confidential. The ADA also offers certain protections to workers with disabilities, and prohibits discrimination, such as decisions in hiring or firing, that are based on disability.
“The reality is that this guy (who is independently wealthy) did no actual work, claimed as his excuse that he had a disability that prevented him from typing, yet was simultaneously tweeting up a storm,” Mr Musk wrote. “Can’t say I have a lot of respect for that.”
He also suggested that Mr Thorleifsson only tweeted at him for “a big payout”.
Mr Thorleifsson later detailed the limitations of his muscular dystrophy with followers, adding that he was able to write threads on Twitter through his phone, given that it allows him to type with one finger. His limitation, he added, was not a major issue in the pre-Elon era of Twitter.
“I was a senior director and my job was mostly to help teams move forward, give them strategic and tactical guidance,” he said. “But as I told HR (I’m assuming that’s the confidential health information you are sharing) I can’t work as a hands-on designer for the reasons outlined above.”
On Tuesday, Mr Musk said he had chatted with Mr Thorleifsson over a video call and “would like to apologise for my misunderstanding of his situation”.
He added, a day after saying he had fired the designer, that Mr Thorleifsson was “considering remaining at Twitter”.
Mr Musk’s turnaround is a rare move for the executive, who has been known for doubling down on attacks against critics and former employees, particularly on Twitter. In July 2018, he famously called a British caver who helped rescue a trapped Thai soccer team a “pedo guy”
That man, Mr Vernon Unsworth, unsuccessfully sued Musk for defamation in Los Angeles.
In December, Mr Musk publicly attacked Mr Yoel Roth, Twitter’s former safety head. Mr Musk posted excerpts of Roth’s doctoral dissertation that suggested the former Twitter executive was an advocate for child sexualisation – a baseless trope that opened up Mr Roth to online abuse and caused him to leave, and then sell, his home.
In February, Mr Musk appeared to fire another 200 Twitter employees.
