X staff almost asked police to carry out a wellness check on Elon Musk after he once locked himself in his office, author says

• Staff at X, formerly Twitter, considered calling the police over fears Elon Musk might harm himself.
• Ben Mezrich, author of the book "Breaking Twitter," made the remarks to CNBC's Squawk Box.

Staff at X, formerly Twitter, once considered calling the San Francisco police after an upset Elon Musk locked himself in his office, author Ben Mezrich said.

Mezrich, the author of the book "Breaking Twitter," told CNBC's Squawk Box, that Musk's chaotic X acquisition had a serious impact on the billionaire's reputation.

"He got to a point where he locked himself in his office, was so upset that the Twitter employees were considering calling a wellness check by the San Francisco police because they thought he was going to self-harm himself," Mezrich said. "I think he truly cares about his reputation, and he was shocked."

Mezrich cited several incidents that led to a "spiral" for Musk, including getting booed at a Dave Chappelle comedy show and his son's car being attacked.

"The Elon before Twitter and the Elon after Twitter are two different Elons," he said. "Elon didn't just break Twitter, Twitter broke Elon Musk."

Representatives for Musk did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment with a statement that addressed the question.

Musk's controversial decisions in the wake of the X takeover have upset some users and former fans. Mass layoffs at the company, the removal of users' blue verification ticks, and the treatment of former employees have all sparked criticism.

Musk has historically been concerned with his popularity, especially on the platform he owns. Back in February, the billionaire reportedly asked engineers to investigate why his tweets were getting fewer views.

Musk later fired an engineer who showed him his popularity was declining on the app, the Platformer report said.