‘He should have gone away’

• Jack Dorsey last year called Elon Musk “I believe” in taking Twitter personally.
• On Friday, Dorsey slammed Musk, saying he didn’t act well when it came to buying the platform.
• “I think he should have walked away,” Dorsey wrote of Musk.

The single solution that Elon Musk believes Jack Dorsey is trusting to run Twitter is no longer there.

At least, that’s what the social media company’s former CEO posted online Friday.

When users of Dorsey’s Twitter-alternative site Bluesky asked if he felt Musk had proven to be an “ideal” hire for the site, the Twitter co-founder flatly said he didn’t.

“No. I don’t think he did well after realizing his timing was bad,” Dorsey wrote of Musk. “I don’t think the board should have forced the sale. It just went south.”

Musk’s behavior before and after the acquisition — from antagonizing advertisers to sweeping layoffs — has drawn criticism from industry leaders and Twitter users over the past year, with some dismissive of his approach.

Dorsey added: “If Elon or anyone wants to buy a company, all they have to do is name a price that the board thinks is better than what the company could do independently. That’s true of every public company. Was I optimistic? Yes. Did I say final? No. He walked away and made $1b.” I think I should have given it.”

During the tumultuous acquisition process, Musk could have backed out of the deal, paying a billion-dollar break-up fee. Instead, he eventually bought the social media company for $44 billion in October. Dorsey retained his stake in the company.

Musk’s latest criticism is a marked shift from Dorsey’s praise of the Tesla chief a year ago.

In a series Tweets Shared in April of last year, ahead of the site’s outright sale, Dorsey supported Musk’s vision for Twitter, saying Musk’s goal of making the social media platform “more trusted and more broadly inclusive” was “perfect.”

“In principle, I don’t believe anyone should own or operate Twitter. It wants to be a public good on an ethical level, not a corporation,” Dorsey said. wrote. “However, solving the problem of being an institution, I believe Elon is. I believe in its mission to expand the light of consciousness.”

Since buying the site, hate speech has increased on Twitter, while Musk has promised to create a content review council to decide how to remove harmful posts — no such council has been announced. He polled users on whether he should resign, saying he would abide by the results, but remains active as the site’s current CEO.

Musk said the platform, which has long failed to sustain profitability despite the chaos fueled by Musk’s acquisitions, was able to break even earlier this month.

Dorsey and Musk did not immediately respond to Insider’s requests for comment. A Twitter press email sent an automated response to Insider’s request for comment.