Elon Musk thought there were 'ghost employees' at Twitter

Apparently, Elon Musk wasn't just worried about fake Twitter accounts when he acquired the social media platform, he was also concerned with fake employees.

A recent New York Timesarticle investigated what it's been like for people inside Twitter during Musk's chaotic takeover.

By interviewing 36 people "at or close to Twitter", reporters found that, among other things, Musk allegedly requested a payroll audit to confirm employees receiving bonuses were real before they were laid off.

According to the article, Musk supposedly wanted to lay off Twitter's work staff before employees received scheduled bonuses.

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However, he allegedly agreed to wait until after the bonus date under the condition the company assess for "ghost employees".

"Mr. Musk insisted on a payroll audit to confirm that Twitter’s employees were “real humans." He voiced concerns that “ghost employees” who should not receive the money lingered in Twitter’s systems," New York Times reported.

The New York Times reports that Musk requested Twitter's Chief Accounting Officer, Rober Kaiden, to conduct the audit which consisted of confirming with managers the real-life existence of employees.

Kaiden was later fired during the mass lay-off.

As word of the "ghost employee" audit hit Twitter, people questioned Musk's skepticism, as many have never heard of the term.

One Twitter user, @these_qualia, provided clarity to people.

"Ghost employees are a real thing I have looked for and found in audits. But, uh, out of tens of thousands of employees, I found two ever. It's not a significant risk. I usually appended the search to other audits. It's not terribly involved if you're already doing other work," they wrote.

We reached out to Musk for comment

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