AOC pays tribute to Twitter staff amid reports that Elon Musk locked offices after ‘hardcore’ deadline passed

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has paid tribute to Twitter’s employees amid reports that Elon Musk has locked down all the company’s offices after his “hardcore” deadline passed.

“Shout out to all the workers at Twitter. You all built a vital place for connection and deserved so much better. Millions of people appreciate the space you built and the hard work that went into it. Thank you,” tweeted the congresswoman from New York.

Following the 5pm ET deadline, hundreds of Twitter employees reportedly signalled on the company’s Slack system that they were leaving, and Mr Musk’s response was reportedly to close offices until 21 November.

“Twitter just alerted employees that effective immediately, all office buildings are temporarily closed and badge access is suspended. No details given as to why,” tweeted Zoe Schiffer of Platformer.

“We’re hearing this is because Elon Musk and his team are terrified employees are going to sabotage the company. Also, they’re still trying to figure out which Twitter workers they need to cut access for.”

Mr Musk took to Twitter and joked at the seemingly difficult position he now found himself in.

“How do you make a small fortune in social media? Start out with a large one,” he tweeted on Thursday evening.

The lawmaker and the world’s richest person have had an ongoing feud on Twitter, with the high-profile New York Democrat mocking his attempt to charge users $8 per month for verification.

Earlier Mr Musk appeared to soften his stance on remote work for Twitter employees after a strong backlash to his ultimatum.

And with some staff opting to exit the San Francisco-based company rather than accept Mr musk’s new work environment, he appeared to soften his approach to remote working.

Following his $44bn takeover of the firm, Mr Musk told staff he was ending work from home and everyone needed to be in the office for 40 hours a week.

On Wednesday he told staff that they should be prepared to work “long hours at high intensity” to build “Twitter 2.0.”

But on Thursday afternoon, in an apparent attempt to actually retain staff, he sent another email clarifying his position on remote work.

“Regarding remote work, all that is required for approval is that your manager takes responsibility for ensuring that you are making an excellent contribution,” Mr Musk said in the email, seen by CNN.