Elon Musk publicly released on Tuesday Hello Thorliefsson, a disabled Icelandic entrepreneur who started a design company, Ueno, that Twitter acquired a few years ago.

But less than 24 hours later, Musk backed down and announced on Twitter that Thorlieffson was considering remaining an employee.

“I would like to apologize to Halli for my misunderstanding of his situation. It was based on things I was told that were untrue or in some cases true but not meaningful. He’s considering staying on Twitter,” Musk said.

What happened: Thorlieffson tweeted at Musk on Monday asking if he was employed or not after being locked out of his company computer and accounts.

Musk even wanted to know what exactly Thorliefsson had been working on Post a meme video from the 1999 film Office Space.

The billionaire entrepreneur also accused Thorliefsson of using his muscular dystrophy as an “excuse” for not being able to work.

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The move drew a lot of criticism. journalist Matt Binder tweeted screenshots of the exchange and said, “There’s no reason to treat anyone like that.” Binder’s tweet was viewed more than eight million times as of Tuesday night.

Separately, William Legateentrepreneur, showed that Twitter could be on the hook to pay Thorliefsson $100 million as part of his deal. Musk tweeted Tuesday night that he had spoken to Thorliefsson and decided to keep him on staff.

It’s unclear exactly what changed Musk’s mind, but the waves of public criticism and the $100 million buyout clause may have been factors.

Continue reading: Elon Musk was reportedly ushered into Twitter HQ by 2 “bulky” bodyguards – even to the bathroom

photo by Steve Jurvetson on Flickr