Battle for the Bird: Jack Dorsey, Elon Musk, and the $44 Billion Fight for Twitter’s Soul

Bloomberg journalist Wagner debuts with a well-researched account of Twitter’s growth and near destruction at the hands of Elon Musk. Jack Dorsey cofounded Twitter and created a staff-friendly, positive workplace that encouraged innovation and creative thinking. But Twitter never made a profit. When stakeholders felt a major change was necessary, Dorsey believed that Musk would be the perfect person to take over Twitter’s management. Big mistake. Almost immediately, Musk began cleaning house, exacting revenge on those he felt had wronged him, and changing rules willy-nilly. Eventually, as Twitter transformed from its original, democratic product into a company run by a megalomaniac, Musk even got rid of the Twitter name, renaming it X. Shaun Taylor-Corbett narrates this chronological history of Twitter/X. He offers moderately successful impressions of people such as Donald Trump and Musk. His pacing is excellent, and he clearly conveys the devastation felt by those involved with Twitter since its beginning.