Elon Musk fires company chief after Twitter takeover announcement

‘Let that sink in’; Elon Musk walked into Twitter’s headquarters with a sink in his arms on Wednesday.Image ANP / AFP

According to The New York Times at least four members of Twitter’s top management lost their jobs immediately after the takeover. In addition to Agrawal, according to sources, it would be financial chief Ned Segal, the highest legal boss Vijaya Gadde and general adviser Sean Edgett. Agrawal and Segal would have been physically evicted from Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters, the sources say.

Tesla CEO Musk was under pressure from a judge to finalize the eventful purchase of Twitter by Friday after he tried to get out of the takeover earlier this year. Musk was at the social medium’s headquarters on Wednesday and shared photos of it on Twitter. Musk already referred to himself as “Chief Twit” on his Twitter account. A few hours after the takeover was completed, he wrote on Twitter that ‘the bird has been freed’.

Musk wants Twitter to be a “warm and welcoming” social network for everyone. He also states that Twitter should be the “world’s most respected media platform for advertisers.” The richest man in the world has previously indicated that he wants to make Twitter a bastion for freedom of expression, a sanctuary for also unwelcome opinions.

Musk has previously said that exiled former president of the United States Donald Trump would also be allowed to return to the platform. Trump has since launched his own social media platform, Truth Social. That hasn’t been very successful yet, but CEO Devin Nunes said on Thursday that Trump will remain loyal to the platform and not return to Twitter.

Twitter ‘too big and too left’

Earlier, Musk said Twitter should generate more ad revenue. But in an open letter, he wrote that he bought Twitter “to try to help humanity, which I love,” not to make more money. At the same time, he seemed to want to reassure Twitter’s advertisers about his plans. “Twitter can’t become a hellish mass brawl, of course, where anything can be said without consequences!”

In addition to advertisers, Twitter employees will also anxiously await what Musk will do with the platform. He is said to have told investors that he wants to lay off three quarters of the employees. Musk has previously said that Twitter’s workforce is too large and too left-wing.

With the completion of the deal, a soap opera that has lasted more than half a year comes to an end. In early April, Musk announced that he owned nearly 10 percent of Twitter’s shares. Initially, he was supposed to serve on the company’s board, but eventually made an offer to buy it in its entirety. After reaching an agreement with Twitter, he suddenly withdrew. There would be too many fake accounts active on the social media platform. In addition, the price of Twitter had plummeted, and Musk would therefore have to pay considerably more than the market value.

Twitter went to court to enforce the sale. On October 4, shortly before he was due to be questioned, Musk made another turn and announced that he would go through with the sale. On Thursday, a day before the deadline, there was a final agreement. Shares of Twitter rose in value slightly on Thursday, to USD 53.86. A fraction below the $54.20 per share that Musk will pay.

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