A data scientist says Jack Dorsey told her Twitter was defenseless against a takeover by Elon Musk and the company should never have gone public

• Jack Dorsey said Twitter was defenseless against Elon Musk's acquisition, per a data scientist.
• Emily Gorcenski said she exchanged messages with Twitter cofounder about Musk's involvement.

Jack Dorsey said Twitter had no defenses against Elon Musk acquiring the company in October, according to a data scientist and activist.

Emily Gorcenski said she sent Dorsey a direct message via Twitter on November 4 about why he decided to hand the platform over to Musk. She said she told him: "It could have been so much more."

Gorcenski, who shared images and screenshots with Insider to confirm her claims, told Dorsey he gave Twitter to a "charlatan" who was either "playing an act for fun" or chucking away the best of Twitter, adding that the employees who lost their jobs deserved better.

Dorsey replied, saying these issues were expected to happen regardless of whether he was involved or not, according to Gorcenski's screenshots of the conversation posted on her Mastodon account.

The Twitter cofounder told her it didn't matter whether Musk or a hedge fund took over the platform, it "was only a matter of time," per the screenshots provided by Gorcenski.

Twitter "had no defenses," Dorsey said in a message to Gorcenski, the screenshots showed.

Gorcenski told Dorsey she wished the takeover could have been handled with "grace" and noted that Twitter had some of the best staff in "very important disciplines."

"I agree with you. But literally no option as an independent company. We should have never gone public. Anyone could buy. No choice in the matter," Dorsey wrote in a message to Gorcenski, per the screenshots.

Twitter went public in November 2013, when Dick Costolo was CEO.

In response to Gorcenski's question about whether it hurt to see Twitter go like this, Dorsey replied: "Of course."

Gorcenski told Insider that Dorsey started following her around five years ago on Twitter, adding that she wasn't sure why because she didn't know him. Over the years, Gorcenski has contacted Dorsey via Twitter DMs to criticize and praise him for what he has done with the company, she said.

"Most of the time he ignored me, though not every time. I do not know why he responded this time," Gorcenski said.

Insider was unable to reach Dorsey for comment.