Elon Musk being trolled as “space Karen” has spawned potentially the last great moment on Twitter – that’s if the dire predictions are to be believed.
On the day hundreds of Twitter employees were estimated to have quit the beleaguered company following a Thursday deadline from Musk that staffers sign up for “long hours at high intensity” or leave, someone across the street from the firm’s San Francisco headquarters projected a news-ticker style message on the building.
It included descriptions of the self-styled Chief Twit as “bankruptcy baby”, “mediocre manchild” and “petulant pimple” among others.
Gia Vang, an NBC Bay Area reporter, attributed the messages to an individual calling themself “a projection activist”.
It was “space Karen” – a reference to Musk’s inter-galactic ambitions and the archetypal woman with a fondness for asking to see the manager – that stood out.
Regardless of who was behind the prank, Twitter users were delighted.
If the doomsayers are right, it could be one the last hurrahs on the site.
Given the strife brought on by Musk’s arrival, Twitter users have been bidding farewell to the platform by way of comedy and memes following the mass resignations.
The trends #RIPTwitter, #GoodByeTwitter and #TwitterDown were among a number of hashtags and posts that users made to pay homage to the platform late Thursday and Friday morning.
And in a sign things really aren’t going well, Musk emailed Twitter staff on Friday asking that any employees who write software code report to the 10th floor of the office in San Francisco, Reuters reported.
The billionaire said in a follow-up email, “If possible, I would appreciate it if you could fly to SF to be present in person”, adding he would be at the company’s headquarters until midnight and would return Saturday morning.
It comes after the company had told employees it would close its offices and cut badge access until Monday, according to Reuters.
Musk’s first three weeks as Twitter’s owner have been marked by rapid change and chaos. He quickly fired Twitter’s previous CEO and other senior leaders and then laid off half its staff earlier this month.
Musk wrote on Twitter late on Thursday that he was not worried about resignations as “the best people are staying”.
The newest departures mean the platform is losing workers just at it gears up for the FIFA World Cup, which begins on Sunday. It’s one of Twitter’s busiest events, when tweet surges heavily stress its systems.