Elon Musk's Playbook An Inspiration For Silicon Valley Executives? Salesforce's Benioff Says 'Can't Underestimate What He's Done'

Some Tesla investors have misgivings about the way CEO Elon Musk manages his ventures but at least one tech executive has a differing opinion.

What Happened: “Every CEO in Silicon Valley has looked at what Elon Musk has done and has asked themselves, ‘Do they need to unleash their own Elon within them?’” Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff reportedly told in an interview with Business Insider.

See Also: Best Technology Stocks Right Now

Benioff was reportedly referring to the way Musk has shepherded Twitter ever since he took over the social media platform. With the latest round of job cuts announced in late February, Twitter now has less than 2,000 employees, down from 7,500 in October, reported The New York Times. This apart, Musk has also resorted to other cost cuts, including closing down offices.

Benioff said executives are now faced with an existential question. “You have to look at him and say, ‘Wow,’ it’s a very unorthodox management style, but as I’ve said you can’t underestimate what he’s done’” Benioff added.

Why It’s Important: As the economy struggles with a slowdown across several segments and inflationary pressure remains elevated, consumers and businesses are circumspect about spending.

This, in turn, has hurt the top-line companies, which, in turn, have reacted with rightsizing to tide over the current inclement conditions. The tech sector has led the way, with several high-profile, mega-cap tech companies announcing multiple rounds of large-scale layoffs.

Just two months into the new year, about 428 tech companies have laid off 120,422 employees, according to layoffs.fyi. This compares to 161,061 eliminations for the whole of 2022.

Read Next: Why Salesforce Stock Is Surging After Hours