Year In Review: From Elon Musk To Sam Altman, Top CEO Mishaps And Misadventures

As 2023 comes to end, let’s discuss top CEO mishaps and misadventures. While some CEOs seemed to get the spotlight, others received intense criticism on social media. From Elon Musk, Sam Altman to Marc Benioff, the CEOs grabbed all the attention. This year was driven by an endless news cycle by the world’s top corporate executives and billionaires. 

Elon Musk

Elon Musk is the founder, chairman, CEO, and chief technology officer (CTO) of SpaceX; the CEO, product architect and former chairman of Tesla, the owner, the chairman and CTO of X Corp.(previously Twitter); the founder of the Boring Company and xAI; the co-founder of Neuralink and OpenAI; and the president of the Musk Foundation.

He grabbed all the attention in 2023. Throughout the year, he was always in the limelight. From witty comments to hateful speech, he grabbed attention from the media and the people.

X (Twitter) advertisement controversy 

X (Twitter) grabbed all the attention throughout the year. Elon Musk received backlash from big advertisers for his critical social media posts. Advertisers pulled out of the social media platform X. Subsequently, Musk called advertisers, who suspended their advertising on X, as blackmailers. He said at The New York Times’ DealBook Summit, “If somebody’s going to try to blackmail me with advertising, blackmail me with money, go f**k yourself. Is that clear?”

X going bankrupt

Last year, around 90 per cent of X’s revenue came from advertising. Advertisers played an important role in the success of Twitter (now X). Elon Musk took out a $13 billion loan to buy Twitter (now called X). The company now has to pay about $1.2 billion in interest payments every year. Amidst all the problems, X can go bankrupt if advertisers quit social media platform X, according to a recent report.

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Elon Musk vs Mark Zuckerberg cage fight

In June, Elon Musk challenged Mark Zuckerberg for a cage fight. The much-anticipated cage fight between tech billionaire Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg grabbed all the attention. Musk said, “I’m up for a cage match if he is lol.” Zuckerberg, who practices Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, also agreed to the fight. 

Sam Altman

Sam Altman is an American entrepreneur and investor. He is the CEO of OpenAI since 2019. He is one of the leading figures of the AI industry. OpenAI came into the limelight after Samuel Harris Altman’s departure from the company. 

OpenAI vs Sam Altman

Sam Altman was fired by OpenAI’s board on Friday over disagreements on development and monetization of AI.  Later on, the board named a new leader, former Twitch CEO Emmett Shear. His sudden exit from OpenAI shocked the tech world. Later on, around 740 out of 770 employees at OpenAI threatened to quit if the board didn’t bring back Sam Altman. 

Sam Altman returns as OpenAI CEO

Within a few days, Sam Altman confirmed that he was returning to OpenAI. He wrote on X, “I’m looking forward to returning to OpenAI, and building on our strong partnership with msft (Microsoft).” 

Mira Murati, who was made the interim CEO after Altman’s departure from the company, also welcomed him back.

Gregory W. Becker

Gregory W. Becker served as the chief executive officer (CEO) of SVB Financial Group from 2011 to 2023. He also served as a board member of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.

Ex-CEO Greg Becker of failed Silicon Valley Bank defends pay

Greg Becker has been criticized for the bank’s collapse. He faced backlash when he refused to commit to returning the $10 million he received annually from the failed lender. Greg Becker defended the legality of the stock sales. 

Google CEO Sundar Pichai

Sundar Pichai is an Indian-born American business executive. He is the chief executive officer of Alphabet Inc. and Google. He has always been in the limelight for various reasons.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai opens up about laying off 12,000 workers

Recently, Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai finally opened up about the company’s biggest layoff in 25 years. He said, “This is difficult for any company to go through. At Google, we really haven’t had a moment quite like that in 25 years.”

Google conducted the biggest layoff in its history in 2022. They were offered bonuses and remaining vacation time.