Report: Elon Musk Fired a Twitter Engineer Who Told Him His Popularity Was Decreasing According to the tech newsletter Platformer, Musk met with several engineers on Tuesday to discuss the Twitter algorithm.

By Emily Rella

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Getty Images

Elon Musk is not happy with his own algorithm at Twitter — and he reportedly fired an engineer who informed him that his reach and engagement were declining on the social media platform.

According to the tech newsletter Platformer, Musk met with several engineers on Tuesday to discuss the algorithm and questioned his team as to why he appeared to be decreasing in popularity on the platform he purchased for $44 billion.

"This is ridiculous," Musk reportedly told the anonymous sources during the meeting. "I have more than 100 million followers, and I'm only getting tens of thousands of impressions."

According to the sources, one engineer whose name is being kept anonymous "in light of the harassment Musk has directed at former Twitter employees," told the Tesla and SpaceX CEO that it could potentially be due to the growing public fatigue over his antics on the social media platform.

The engineer reportedly showed Musk data from Google Trends that showed how Musk's popularity peaked in Google search rankings last April around the time he acquired Twitter and has been declining ever since.

The engineer was subsequently fired, per the report, though neither Musk nor Twitter has commented on the incident publicly.

Musk recently went private on Twitter for a short period of time in an attempt to test Twitter's algorithm after users claimed they were reaching higher engagement from followers after switching their accounts to private.

"This helped identify some issues with the system," Musk said following his short test. "Should be addressed by next week."

Musk is currently still serving as interim CEO of the company.

Emily Rella

Senior News Writer

Emily Rella is a Senior News Writer at Entrepreneur.com. Previously, she was an editor at Verizon Media. Her coverage spans features, business, lifestyle, tech, entertainment, and lifestyle. She is a 2015 graduate of Boston College and a Ridgefield, CT native. Find her on Twitter at @EmilyKRella.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Editor's Pick

Business News

Zillow Predicts These 10 Places Will Have the Hottest Housing Markets in 2025

Zillow predicted that the hottest housing market of 2025 will be Buffalo, New York. Here's why.

Business Ideas

70 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2025

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2025.

Business Solutions

Say Hello to the PDF Multi-Tool You Didn't Know You Needed

Get lifetime access to UPDF for just $47.99—the best price online right now.

Science & Technology

5 AI Books Top Entrepreneurs Are Reading in a Rush for 2025

Entrepreneurs must embrace AI or risk falling behind. Discover 2025's top 5 AI books to gain a competitive edge, featuring insights from "The Wolf is at the Door" and a free AI Success Kit.

Business Culture

It's Time to Rewrite Your Company's Values — Here's How

Most companies' values are forgotten or disconnected from daily operations. By rethinking and co-creating values with your team, you can transform them into actionable tools that align behavior, build trust and drive performance.