With Elon Musk complaining about bogus accounts on the site and charges made by a whistleblower that Twitter misled authorities about security threats, the months-long animosity between the two sides about the takeover has come to an end.
After months of tossing around the idea of buying Twitter for $44 billion (£38 billion), Musk has finally closed the transaction.
His first action was to oust the top executives of the social media firm, whom he charged with deceiving him over the volume of spam accounts on the network.
According to sources, Musk fired Twitter’s chief executive Parag Agrawal, chief financial officer Ned Segal, and head of law and policy Vijaya Gadde.
Agrawal and Segal are said to have been removed from Twitter’s San Francisco offices where they were when the deal was finalized.
In a follow-up tweet, Musk hinted at the deal’s completion by writing, “the bird is liberated.”
After the social network business sued him for attempting to rip up his initial offer made back in April, the founder of Tesla and SpaceX was given a deadline of October 28 to finalize the purchase in order to avoid going to trial.
Musk and Twitter were scheduled to appear in court on October 17, but the hearing was postponed when the richest man in the world announced he would proceed with the acquisition after all.
Musk shared an odd video of himself dragging a sink into Twitter’s San Francisco offices earlier this week, along with the caption, “Entering Twitter HQ – let that sink in.”
Musk, whose Twitter bio now reads “Chief Twit,” claimed on Thursday that he did not purchase the social media site to increase his wealth but rather “to try to benefit humanity, whom I adore.”
In addition to limiting censorship, he claims he wants to “fight” spam bots on Twitter, make the algorithms that decide how information is presented to users public, and stop the social media site from turning into an echo chamber for hate and division. He has been evasive about his plans thus far and has not provided specifics on how he will carry out these wishes or who will operate the business.
During his visit, Musk reportedly informed colleagues that it was untrue that he would eliminate up to 75% of Twitter’s workforce after buying the firm.
According to prior reports, Musk told investors he hoped to let off almost three-quarters of the company’s 7,500 workers.
The outspoken billionaire has also frequently mentioned a “super app,” which he has informally named “X,” in other plans including the extension of Twitter Blue to android users and also Twitter Edit Button.
The idea has been compared to WeChat in China, which integrates well-known functions including texting, a marketplace, and public posts a la Twitter into a single location.
According to the Reuters news agency, Musk has informed investors that he intends to charge users premium memberships to lessen their dependency on adverts, facilitate payments, and allow content creators to earn money. On Twitter, a flood of offensive, potentially illegal, and damaging content is anticipated as a result of his efforts to reduce content filtering.
He has expressed support for “totally free speech” in the past and implied that he would permit suspended and frequently contentious personalities, like former US president Donald Trump, to reappear on the stage.
The “absolute worst” trolls on the platform may thrive as a result of the richest man in the world’s lax moderation policies, experts have warned, turning Twitter into a “Wild West” where anything goes. The date of October 28 gave Musk time to secure funding for the transaction. A judge in Delaware, the US state where Twitter is incorporated, would have scheduled a trial for November if it had not been met.
With Musk protesting about bogus accounts on the site and charges made by a whistleblower that Twitter misled authorities about security dangers, the months-long animosity between the two parties about the takeover has come to an end. Additionally, it was revealed earlier this month that federal officials are looking into Musk’s actions.
