On the walls of Twitter’s offices around the world — in San Francisco, London and New York — neon signs light up encouraging employees to #lovewhereyouwork.

But over the past six months, the mantra has become difficult for many to live by. Since April, Twitter staff have become Silicon Valley’s most pitied workforce, left in an uncomfortable limbo after Elon Musk made his uninvited $44bn bid for the platform, before attempting to pull out of the deal, all while goading them and discrediting their work.

Now, one of their sharpest critics may become their owner. Last week Musk revived his Twitter buyout plans, and a Delaware judge postponed a legal dispute between the two parties, giving them until October 28 to reach a resolution on the sale.