# Now that Elon Musk has bought Twitter - now the Pit edition (Part 1) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 25, 2022, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442 "2022-04-25T22:50:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 276
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2023, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/5506 "2023-07-07T19:07:53Z")
The catch would be if they used proprietary knowledge or trade secrets from their old jobs in their new jobs, which actually could be an issue and alluded in the threat letter. Just hiring them is not necessarily an issue and near impossible to enforce in most places anyway Now, how much they can prove and how much actually happened is a different kettle of fish, altogether. The claim that any Twitter employees hired didn’t work on Threads is very plausible. It’s been stated repeatedly in this thread - the challenge for Twitter isn’t a technological one. The underlying technology itself for basic tweeting is not that complex. Seems pretty likely this was just Musk telling his lawyers what to do. Can’t be much bite behind the barking. And Threads or whatever, along with several other similar apps, was likely in some stage of development well before Musk went on his firing spree. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2023, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/5507 "2023-07-07T19:12:44Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > Yes, but. Laws concerning trade secrets are complicated. You might be able to work for a competitor, but not necessarily use some of the information you know from your previous employment. As opposed to your skills and experience. > > I expect Meta is well-enough managed that former Twitter employees have been advised about they can and cannot use while working for Meta. Elno is all bluster. Yeah, but let’s also not forget according to the post above, Meta says that no ex-Twitter personnel worked on Threads. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2023, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/5508 "2023-07-07T19:42:40Z")
Now hold on here. Musk isn’t Twit CEO. He’s just an innocent board member. He and the others get together a few times a year for refreshments and friendship. ---
**Author:** ![Dissonance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Dissonance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dissonance)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2023, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/5509 "2023-07-07T19:51:28Z")
Huh. I keep forgetting that. For the life of me I can’t fathom why it’s so easy to forget that he’s no longer the CEO. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2023, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/5510 "2023-07-07T19:55:23Z")
It’s like someone advised him to hire a CEO, but didn’t explain to him the purpose. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2023, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/5511 "2023-07-07T20:38:54Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > Seems pretty likely this was just Musk telling his lawyers what to do. It may also be meant to intimidate former employees to not work for Meta. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2023, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/5512 "2023-07-07T20:45:42Z")
Perhaps, but given how competently they’ve been going about such things so far, that also seems to be rather pointless and stupid ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2023, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/5513 "2023-07-07T21:49:45Z")
If Zuck pays a couple of billion in legal costs to kill Twitter and grab a significant percentage of their user base, it will be money well (and cheaply) spent. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2023, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/5514 "2023-07-07T22:07:31Z")
That’s a remarkable insight, actually. No doubt it has escaped Musky. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2023, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/5515 "2023-07-07T23:30:44Z")
A friend of mine found this. Notice how the smarts go down but the greed remains constant. [![](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/205420590155169793/1126658927455637635/elon_trek.png) ](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/205420590155169793/1126658927455637635/elon_trek.png) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2023, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/5516 "2023-07-08T17:10:12Z")
I’m going to embarrass myself, but who are any of those three characters? ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2023, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/5517 "2023-07-08T17:11:41Z")
Trek, Trek, and Trek ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2023, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/5518 "2023-07-08T17:19:19Z")
They’re all Star Trek characters. First guy is Zephraim Cochrane, a genius scenitist who invented the warp drive. In _Star Trek: First Contact_, the crew travel back in time and meet him, and are disappointed that he invented the warp drive primarily to get rich. Once he gets in space, though, he has a “road to Damascus” moment and becomes less concerned with wealth, and more with human advancement and discovery. The second is a Ferengi, aliens whose culture is based on extreme capitalism. They’re an advanced space-faring civilization, but only care about profit, to a literally religious degree. The third is a Pakled. Their demeanor is comically stupid, and they get all their tech by stealing it from other civilizations who underestimate them because they seem so dumb. ---
**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2023, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/5519 "2023-07-08T17:21:57Z")
Thanks. I had two out of three, and could guess the Pakled by context, but that’s really on the nose. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2023, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/5520 "2023-07-08T18:38:33Z")
Elmo is suing Twitter’s old law firm because Twitter paid their bill to them after they forced Elmo to buy the company. > **[Musk sues law firm because he’s mad that Twitter paid $90 million bill](https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2023/07/musk-sues-law-firm-because-hes-mad-that-twitter-paid-90-million-bill/)** > > Musk tries to claw back $90M from firm that forced him to complete Twitter deal. > ---
**Author:** ![Dissonance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Dissonance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dissonance)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2023, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/5521 "2023-07-08T18:51:57Z")
Well, at least there’s one difference between Elmo and TFG, Elmo’s lawyers know how to write a brief: > Upon seeing the magnitude of the fees being presented > > Twitter’s lame duck board members > > Wachtell’s excessive and unconscionable fee. > > Twitter board’s rubber-stamp approval > > the eleventh-hour fee payment ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2023, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/5522 "2023-07-08T19:59:25Z")
I’m more than happy for Musk to lose that lawsuit and get stuck for exorbitant fees. But objectively, it was definitely a case of the law firm raiding the coffers while they could. It’s tough to justify it if it wasn’t specifically spelled out in the contract. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2023, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/5523 "2023-07-08T20:32:01Z")
That’s the way it reads to me. More details will clarify, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2023, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/5524 "2023-07-08T23:39:57Z")
[![Imgur](https://i.imgur.com/UbNkFqU.png "Imgur: The magic of the Internet") ](https://imgur.com/UbNkFqU) [![Imgur](https://i.imgur.com/Alq8But.png "Imgur: The magic of the Internet") ](https://imgur.com/Alq8But) ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2023, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/5525 "2023-07-09T07:23:38Z")
It gets better. > > [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442.md?page=275) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442.md?page=277)