Gary Zhou 
Twitter CEO Elon Musk is not a fan of press departments. Tesla had one in the past, but the electric vehicle maker abolished it despite complaints from both the company’s critics and supporters.
Twitter was the same thing. Amidst Musk’s turbulent takeover of the social media company, reports emerged suggesting that Twitter has thoroughly trimmed down its communications team. Following this, reports covering the company would frequently mention that inquiries sent to Twitter were left unanswered. This won’t likely be the case anymore, as in a recent post on Twitter, Musk announced that the social media platform will be implementing an automatic reply system for press inquiries.
As noted by Musk, any message sent to Twitter’s press team, whose email is set at press@twitter.com, will receive an automated reply. In true Elon Musk fashion, the automated reply for Twitter press inquiries is a single poop emoji. Numerous users on the social media platform tested and confirmed the update. Teslarati did too, and we got the same response.
Twitter’s automated press reply update was received with much appreciation from users of the social media platform, though members of the press are understandably not happy with the change. Considering that the typical Elon Musk company usually does not reply to press inquiries at all, however, Twitter’s cheeky automated reply system — as ironic as it may sound — is an actual step up.
The rollout of Elon Musk’s automated response system for Twitter press inquiries is definitely not the norm, but it is understandable. Over the years, Musk’s relationship with the press has worsened. Amidst constant negative coverage from mainstream and independent outlets, the CEO has developed what could almost be described as hostility to some members of the press.
While it is understandable for Musk to roll out systems to poke fun at journalists — such as Twitter’s automated response for press inquiries — the social media platform’s lack of a communications team has resulted in some areas for improvement. Last month alone, Musk noted on Twitter that the platform would start sharing ad revenue with creators. Musk’s announcement was exciting, but it lacked details. Ultimately, Musk ended up answering questions about the upcoming system on Twitter himself.
