Since Elon Musk acquired Twitter (now called X) in 2022, the controversy surrounding the billionaire and the company has taken an uptick. After laying off thousands of employees and avoiding severance payments, Musk has now brought up an interesting condition for X staff about their stock grants.
As reported by The Verge, the billionaire has sent an email to employees to inform them about future stock options. However, stock options will be awarded based on performance, meaning employees should write a one-page document explaining their impact on the company. Basically, they need to tell Musk why they"re a valuable member of the organization in order to own the stock.
Given Musk"s past attitude, this condition for awarding stock options is not strange. After taking over Twitter, Musk told the remaining employees that they must work "long hours at high intensity" or leave the company, adding that "Only exceptional performance will constitute a passing grade" (via The Washington Post)
The relationship between X and its staff has been quite contentious in recent months. In June, the company delayed the promotions process without explanation, just saying they"re planning on a new promotion process that will include "doing lighter-weight check-ins throughout the year." Now, requesting the staff to provide reasons on why they deserve to own the stock could add fuel to the fire of tensions.
Furthermore, some sources within X informed The Verge that they had not received their annual equity refresher, which was due in April. Despite Elon Musk"s previous assurance that X staff could cash out their stock at any time, they are still waiting for this promise to be fulfilled. The last equity refresher was distributed in October 2023, when the company was valued at $19 billion.
The departure of employees from X continues. X CEO Linda Yaccarino"s head of business operation, Joe Benarroch, left the company in June. This departure could signal a potential new round of layoffs in the future.