A Starship test vehicle. <\/span>(Image credit: SpaceX)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nMusk’s new ownership has changed the landscape of Twitter’s culture considerably, numerous media reports have said. He removed its board and most of its senior executive team, suddenly laid off more than half (opens in new tab)<\/span> of the company’s then-7,500 employees, insisted that those who remain commit to “hardcore” work (opens in new tab)<\/span> with “long hours at high intensity,” forced the previously remote workforce back into the office (opens in new tab)<\/span> with a few days’ notice, and reportedly installed sleeping quarters on site (opens in new tab)<\/span>among numerous other changes.<\/p>\nMusk also reinstituted numerous controversial Twitter accounts, including the Twitter account of President Donald Trump (opens in new tab)<\/span>. Trump had been banned from the platform after playing a crucial role in the Jan. 6, 2021, riots on Capitol Hill; Trump had falsely declared the federal election results were counterfeit and asked the US people to take action on that.<\/p>\nAdvertisers have been fleeing the platform (opens in new tab)<\/span> in the meantime, lessening Twitter’s revenues considerably. Musk’s first attempt to institute “verified” $8 subscription accounts (opens in new tab)<\/span> last month created a slew of parody accounts spreading disinformation in mere hours, until the venture was shut down. <\/p>\nLong-time NASA contractor Lockheed Martin was among the companies that may have lost billions (opens in new tab)<\/span> in the stock market after a “verified” fake Lockheed account tweeted<\/a> (opens in new tab)<\/span> that the aerospace giant would stop its military sales to the United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\nElizabeth Howell is the co-author of “<\/em>Why Am I Taller<\/em> (opens in new tab)<\/span>?\u201d (ECW Press, 2022; with Canadian astronaut Dave Williams), a book about space medicine. Follow her on Twitter <\/em>@howellspace<\/em><\/a> (opens in new tab)<\/span>. Follow us on Twitter <\/em>@Spacedotcom<\/em><\/a> (opens in new tab)<\/span> or <\/em>Facebook<\/em> (opens in new tab)<\/span>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n