In a few days, Elon Musk will overhaul the business of messaging network Twitter. After sacking Twitter’s leadership on Thursday, Musk hired confidants from his other companies to turn the company around. For example, Twitter wants to charge money for the verification of users – which can be recognized by a blue check mark. American media report this after a tumultuous weekend, in which Musk himself spread conspiracy theories via Twitter.
The Tesla CEO and founder of space company SpaceX has officially owned Twitter since last Thursday. Musk, the richest person in the world, made a $44 billion bid for the messaging network earlier this year and then withdrew from the deal. A lawsuit forced him to keep his promises.
As of Thursday, Musk called himself “Chief Twit” on his Twitter account, which is read by more than 100 million followers. He fired general manager Parag Agrawal, financial director Ned Segal and a group of managers on the spot. A larger round of layoffs for the company’s 7,500 employees is still hanging over the market. Musk did not hire a new CEO for day-to-day operations; he enlists the help of employees from his other companies, such as Neuralink and tunnel company The Boring Company. That signals tech site The Verge based on anonymous sources at Twitter.
Also read: Quarrels, lawsuits and a sink; how Musk bought Twitter after all.
Twitter staff in Europe are in the dark about the exchange rate – according to sources who NRC spoke, their new boss hasn’t heard from them yet. They follow the course changes via Musk’s Twitter account. There, Musk gauged the interest among his followers in reviving Vine, a previously delisted video service from Twitter, as a competitor to TikTok.
Verifying users
At the beginning of November, Musk already wants to introduce a paid service for authenticating users. According to American media, this is an amount that ‘recognized’ prominent Twitter users such as politicians, celebrities and journalists should pay. They don’t pay anything for a blue checkmark that confirms their authenticity and thus helps against the spread of fake news. According to The Verge, users with such a blue checkmark 20 dollars a month have to pay – along with extras and better distribution of their tweets. Writer’s response Stephen King: „They should pay me. If that continues, I’ll be out of Twitter.”
More twitterers are looking for a way out; the alternative messaging service Mastodon got overwhelmed with requests for new accounts.
Musk promotes more freedom of speech for Twitter and promises to intervene less quickly with dissent. He also questions the permanent ban that Twitter imposed on former US President Donald Trump. Immediately after the acquisition by Musk, the number of tweets with racist expressions by anonymous accounts increased. In an effort to reassure advertisers — they typically don’t like seeing their products next to radical political statements — Musk promised he wouldn’t let “all hell break loose” on Twitter. Musk had previously been skeptical of advertisers on the messaging network, but they supply 90 percent of Twitter’s total annual revenue ($5.1 billion in 2021).
conspiracy theory
Another promise Musk made: He announced that a board of trustees will decide on moderation of tweets and banning accounts. He omitted details about which persons or bodies such a council should consist of. Also read: The Seven Faces of Elon Musk. Musk tweeted this weekend a reference to a conspiracy theory following the attack on Nancy Pelosi’s husband. He deleted that message again, without explanation.
Twitter’s stock price stopped responding to all the changes. Shareholders will be bought out, and TWTR will disappear from the New York Stock Exchange on November 8.