Elon Musk has refuted a New York Times story that he intends to fire Twitter employees before the beginning of the following month in order to avoid having to make payments. He responded to a tweeter who inquired about the report by saying, 'This is fake.'

Following months of legal fighting, Elon Musk last week finalised his $44 billion (£37.9 billion) acquisition of the social networking company. The company's top executives, chairman, and financial officer all left after the purchase.

Over the weekend, the New York Times reported that Elon Musk had ordered massive job cuts for the entire Twitter crew. The newspaper reported that the layoffs would take place before 1 November, when staff were expected to receive grants of company shares as a key part of their compensation agreements. Twitter users have been debating how the social media platform will change under Mr. Musk's direction ever since the acquisition.

Some individuals are worried that if free speech regulations are relaxed, people who were banned for using hate speech or deceptive material could return to the stage. Mr. Musk stated last week that he did not want the platform to become a site for animosity and division. It is obvious that Twitter cannot devolve into a free-for-all hellscape where anything may be said without repercussions, the author stated in his essay.

The New York Times' headline made reference to a response Mr. Musk had sent to a tweet by former US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton over the weekend before deleting it, but Mr. Musk nonetheless tweeted a screenshot of the headline accusing him of sharing a link to a 'site known to propagate false news.'

His response included a reference to a hoax alleging that Paul Pelosi, husband of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, had been attacked. Separately, in answer to a query regarding how users get verified on the site and receive the coveted 'blue check mark,' he stated the procedure will be changed. Without providing any additional information, Mr. Musk stated that 'the entire authentication procedure is currently being overhauled.' According to a source, the company was thinking about charging for verification.