Elon Musk has hired a high-profile hacker and coder known as the first person to hack the iPhone as a teenager, to fix a troubled Twitter feature.
George Hotz has been given just 12 weeks to improve Twitter’s search function.
The whiz-kid boasts an impressive, albeit somewhat nefarious resume. At just 17, he made massive waves in the tech world when in 2007, he became the first person to jailbreak an iPhone – considered near impossible at the time.
In 2010, he reverse-engineered the PlayStation 3, which eventually saw him sued by Sony.
In the years since, Hotz has also dabbled in exploiting the security networks of Android and other devices, later working stints at Facebook, Google, and a number of start-ups.
“I’m an intern trying to improve search. Whatever feelings you have about Twitter and Elon are not about me,” he tweeted on Wednesday.
“I think it’s cool to get feedback. Not trying to get ‘free work’, I just find this fun. Here to learn and improve things.
“I bet by next Monday. Someone is going to have 1000+ users on their Twitter search plug-in.”
Twitter has been mired in controversy since Musk’s $66 billion ($71b) October takeover of the platform.
Mass firings and a subsequent wave of resignations have proved a central sore point for critics as Musk pushes for “extremely hardcore” work ethics from his new employees.
But it was that push from Musk that drew the interest of Hotz.
“This is the attitude that builds incredible things. Let all the people who don’t desire greatness leave,” Hotz tweeted in response.
“I’ll put my money where my mouth is. I’m down for a 12-week internship at Twitter for the cost of living in [San Francisco].
“It’s not about accumulating capital in a dead world, it’s about making the world alive.”
Musk responded, “sure, let’s talk” – and here we are.
While Hotz has been extended the olive branch of temporary employment, observers estimate the number of Twitter employees has dropped from 3700 in October to about 2500 as of November 21.
