Musk Takes Over Twitter and Implements Major Changes as Deal Closes
Elon Musk took full control of Twitter Inc. without delay. As soon as his $44 billion take-private deal finished, the billionaire named himself CEO, fired top management, and started instantly changing strategy at one of the most important social media platforms in the world.
A source with knowledge of the matter who asked to remain anonymous to discuss internal deliberations said that Musk, 51, will succeed Parag Agrawal, who was ousted along with three other top executives. In the long run, the erratic businessman—who also oversees Tesla Inc. and SpaceX—may give up his position as CEO of Twitter. Representatives at Twitter declined to comment.
The world's richest man is now in charge of a failing social network thanks to Musk's takeover, which comes after six months of public and legal battle. It was one of Musk's first moves to change the leadership. The chief financial officer of Twitter, Ned Segal, the head of legal, policy, and trust, Vijaya Gadde, and the general counsel of the company since 2012, Sean Edgett, are all leaving. According to a report from Bloomberg News, Edgett was escorted out from the building.
The insider said that as Musk opposes lifetime bans on users, he also wants to do away with them. The insider said that as Musk opposes lifetime bans on users, he also wants to do away with them. According to the source, Donald Trump would be included in this group of those who have already been removed from the stage. Trump may or may not be allowed to rejoin Twitter in the near future.
The takeover brings to an end a complicated drama that started in January with the billionaire quietly building up a sizable position in the business, his mounting displeasure with the way it's operated, and a merger agreement that he later spent months trying to undo. The end of nine years of public trading is signalled by Musk's buyout.
Because many of Musk's suggestions for changing the firm are at conflict with the way it has been governed for years, the change in leadership will cause an immediate disruption to Twitter's operations. He has stated that he wants to protect 'free speech' on the social media platform. Days after the 2021 Capitol uprising, Twitter suspended Trump due to the 'potential of additional instigation of violence.' A return to Twitter could give the former president the chance to strengthen his message since it is commonly anticipated that he would run for office again in 2024.
More broadly, Musk's actions threaten to undo Twitter's years of efforts to reduce bullying and harassment on the social media platform. Worries that debate on the social network may deteriorate and undermine years of effort by the company and its 'trust and safety' team to delete unpleasant or damaging messages are raised by Musk's leadership, which raises the potential of less strict content policing.
Musk attempted to persuade advertisers in a letter he sent on Thursday that he did not want Twitter to devolve into a 'free-for-all hellscape.' As the deadline of October 28 approached, Musk began to leave his mark on the industry. He updated his platform profile to read 'Chief Twit' and shared a video of himself walking into the office.