Elon Musk emails Twitter engineers to fly in for in-person meetings

Elon Musk has emailed Twitter staff asking that any employees who write software code report to the 10th floor of the office in San Francisco early afternoon, according to an email reviewed by the Reuters news agency.

The billionaire said in a follow-up email on Friday, "If possible, I would appreciate it if you could fly to SF to be present in person," adding he would be at the company's headquarters until midnight and would return Saturday morning.

He said the engineers should report at 2 pm on Friday.

Musk ordered employees to email him a summary of what their software code has "achieved" in the past six months, "along with up to 10 screenshots of the most salient lines of code."

"There will be short, technical interviews that allow me to better understand the Twitter tech stack," Musk wrote in one of the emails.

The emails came a day after hundreds of Twitter employees were estimated to have decided to quit the beleaguered social media company following a Thursday deadline from Musk that staffers sign up for "long hours at high intensity," or leave.

The company had told employees it would close its offices and cut badge access until Monday, according to two sources, and it was not immediately known whether the headquarters reopened.

READ MORE: Musk's 'hardcore' ultimatum ignites Twitter exodus

Change and chaos 

Musk said earlier this week that some Tesla engineers were assisting in evaluating Twitter's engineering teams, but he said it was on a "voluntary basis" and "after hours."

He said he would try to speak with remote employees by video, and that only people who could not physically get to the company's headquarters or have a family emergency would be excused.

In his first email to Twitter employees this month, Musk said: "We are also changing Twitter policy such that remote work is no longer allowed unless you have a specific exception."

"Managers will send the exceptions lists to me for review and approval."

Musk's first three weeks as Twitter's owner have been marked by rapid change and chaos. He quickly fired Twitter's previous CEO and other senior leaders and then laid off half its staff earlier this month.

Musk wrote on Twitter late on Thursday that he was not worried about resignations as "the best people are staying."

READ MORE: Elon Musk warns of Twitter 'bankruptcy' as more senior staffers quit