Elon Musk’s peculiar focus on verifying the existence of “real humans” among Twitter employees has resurfaced as he leads an initiative to streamline the federal workforce. Following his acquisition of Twitter in 2022, Musk demanded a payroll audit to root out potential ghost employees, sparking confusion and skepticism among executives. Now, federal employees are receiving emails requiring them to list their weekly accomplishments, a move aimed at ensuring the legitimacy of existing staff.

Former Twitter employees view Musk’s actions as a power play to assert his authority and test loyalty. Musk’s history of unconventional behavior, like carrying a sink into Twitter headquarters before rebranding the platform as X, exemplifies his penchant for making bold statements. Despite Musk’s allegations of non-existent federal employees and dead people receiving benefits, no evidence has been presented to support these claims.

The attempt to evaluate Twitter engineers by printing out code exemplifies Musk’s erratic management style, which former employees found both absurd and offensive. While Musk eventually abandoned the idea, his unpredictable actions have left both Twitter and federal employees feeling uncertain and vulnerable. The overarching theme seems to be Musk’s quest for control and loyalty, creating an environment that former employees describe as challenging but manageable through mutual support and solidarity.