Update: 'I would like to apologize': Elon Musk forced to apologize after publicly shaming disabled developer who was questioning their employment status

Brad Dickson • Managing Editor

Mar 7, 2023 11:01 PM EST

An incredibly public display that may have resulted in multiple contractual and privacy breaches occurred on Twitter between Twitter CEO Elon Musk and a developer, Halli, after the developer enquired about his employment status on the platform following radio silence from the social media giant.

The exchange resulted from a viral tweet from Halli, who claimed that they had lost access to their work computer nine days prior—yet there had been communication from the HR department, which also wasn't responding to any of Halli's inquiries. Musk himself responded to the tweet, which now has over 30M views, resulting in a conversation that saw the disclosure of considerable private information.

After the exchange played out and circulated the web, Musk returned to the conversation to apologize to Halli—a rare gesture from the Billionaire CEO. See this all play out in the images below.

Getting laid off is an experience most of us will face at some point in life… But most of us will be notified that we have been laid off when we have been. Even then, if we aren't notified due to some communication error, we probably won't be ignored by HR and then publicly shamed by our boss on social media after we enquire about the status of our employment.

Keep reading to see selected screenshots of this lengthy exchange. For more, check out this Twitter developer who Musk fired on Twitter for publicly correcting him.

01
The original tweet that prompted the exchange

via @iamharaldur
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Musk's first response, asking about Halli's work for the company in a manner that we have seen previously

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Musk begins to get doubtful with this response

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He then veers off into unprofessional territory with a quote and scene concerning layoffs from the cult classic "Office Space"

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It turns out "what he's owed" is a huge settlement for the purchase of his company... that was supposed to be paid out over time as a salary

via @iamharaldur
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A third party weighs in prompting a response from Elon

via @anothercohen
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Elon discloses personal HR information regarding Halli's disability

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Layering on personal insults

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The 3rd party responds again

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Another (4th) party weighs in, Elon appears to be doing his homework now. That, or Twitter's lawyers have contacted him...

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In the meantime Halli writes the following thread in response to Elon's comments on his disability

via @iamharaldur
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Musk has just returned to write this apology. Unprecedented from the billionaire CEO

via @elonmusk