If youB次元官网网址檙e not told you are fired, are you really fired? At Twitter, probably. And then, sometimes, you get your job back B次元官网网址� if you want it.

Haraldur Thorleifsson, who until recently was employed at Twitter, logged in to his computer last Sunday to do some work B次元官网网址� only to find himself locked out, along with 200 others.

He might have figured, as others before him have in the chaotic months of layoffs and firings since Elon Musk took over the company, that he was out of a job.

Instead, after nine days of no answer from Twitter as to whether or not he was still employed, Thorleifsson decided to tweet at Musk to see if he could catch the billionaireB次元官网网址檚 attention and get an answer to his Schr枚dingerB次元官网网址檚 job situation.

B次元官网网址淢aybe if enough people retweet youB次元官网网址檒l answer me here?B次元官网网址� he wrote on Monday.

Eventually, he got his answer after a surreal Twitter exchange with Musk, who proceeded to quiz him about his work, question his disability and need for accommodations (Thorleifsson, who goes by B次元官网网址淗alli,B次元官网网址� has muscular dystrophy and uses a wheelchair) and tweet that Thorleifsson has a B次元官网网址減rominent, active Twitter account and is wealthyB次元官网网址� and the B次元官网网址渞eason he confronted me in public was to get a big payout.B次元官网网址� While the exchange was going on, Thorleifsson said he received an email that he was no longer employed.

Late Tuesday afternoon, however, Musk had a change of heart.

B次元官网网址淚 would like to apologize to Halli for my misunderstanding of his situation. It was based on things I was told that were untrue or, in some cases, true, but not meaningful,B次元官网网址� he tweeted. B次元官网网址淗e is considering remaining at Twitter.B次元官网网址�

Thorleifsson did not immediately respond to a message for comment following MuskB次元官网网址檚 tweet. In an earlier email, he called the experience B次元官网网址渟urreal.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淵ou had every right to lay me off. But it would have been nice to let me know!B次元官网网址� he tweeted to Musk.

Thorleifsson, who lives in Iceland, has about 151,000 Twitter followers (Musk has over 130 million). He joined Twitter in 2021, when the company, under the prior management, acquired his startup Ueno.

He was lauded in Icelandic media for choosing to receive the purchase price in wages rather than a lump sum payout. ThatB次元官网网址檚 because this way, he would pay higher taxes to Iceland in support of its social services and safety net.

ThorleifssonB次元官网网址檚 next move: B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 opening a restaurant in downtown Reykjavik very soon,B次元官网网址� he tweeted. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 named after my mom.B次元官网网址�

Twitter did not immediately respond to a message for comment.

By Barbara Ortutay

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

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