Twitter engineering chief reveals exit hours after DeSantis ‘fiasco’

Many users were unable to hear Ron DeSantis’s campaign launch after the Twitter audio stream crashed – GETTY IMAGES

Twitter’s head of engineering has announced his departure from the social media platform, having decided to resign on the day of Ron DeSantis’ car-crash presidential launch alongside Elon Musk.

Foad Dabiri announced on Twitter that he decided on Wednesday to “leave the nest” nearly four years after he joined the company in 2019.

Mr Dabiri described his role on LinkedIn as “engineering lead for Twitter’s growth organisation”.

Sources told The Telegraph that his departure has nothing to do with the launch event and was already decided beforehand.

It’s the latest exit for Twitter, which has fired more than half of its workforce since it was acquired by Mr Musk in a $44bn (£36.5bn) deal last year.

“During my time @Twitter, I experienced two distinct eras: pre and post M&A. Both came with their fair share of challenges, but they also shared a grand mission and a team of extraordinary individuals,” Mr Dabiri tweeted.

Commenting on his experience at Twitter following the takeover, Mr Dabiri added: “To say it was challenging at the outset would be an understatement. The change was massive and rapid; we came through and emerged stronger, thanks to the remarkable team that held the fort.”

Mr Dabiri also said that working with Mr Musk was “highly educational” and it was “enlightening” to see how the billionaire’s “principles and vision” are shaping Twitter’s future.

Mr  Dabiri’s announcement on Thursday came the day after Mr DeSantis’s highly-anticipated campaign launch on Twitter was beset by a series of malfunctions.

The social media platform appeared to be overwhelmed as nearly half a million people attempted to listen to the event on Twitter Spaces, a feature which allows users to have live audio conversations.

Hundreds of thousands of listeners were met with over 20 minutes of silence, feedback noise and bizarre music.

The Florida governor was joined by Mr Musk and host David Sacks, who claimed that the sheer demand for the event was “melting the servers”.

The meltdown led Mr DeSantis’s rivals – from President Biden to Donald Trump – to ridicule the chaotic launch event on the platform.

However, Mr Musk was quick to dismiss claims that the streaming fiasco marked a setback for the social network.

On Thursday morning, Mr Musk said the campaign launch was “top story on Earth today” and that it had received “massive attention”.

The billionaire, who has become a champion of the US right and promises to protect free speech on Twitter, also said that “all presidential candidates are most welcome on this platform”.

It marked the latest meltdown for Twitter which has endured glitches and outages under Mr Musk’s leadership.

Earlier this month, Mr Musk revealed that Linda Yaccarino, the former advertising head at US media giant NBCUniversal, will take over as chief executive which will allow him to focus on product design and new technology.

Twitter and Mr Dabiri had not responded to requests for comment at the time of publication.

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