'The bird is freed', says Elon Musk after taking over Twitter

'The bird is freed', says Elon Musk after taking over Twitter

FP Staff October 28, 2022, 11:47:20 IST

Soon after closing the deal to buy Twitter, Elon Musk fired at least four top executives. He accused them of misleading him and Twitter investors over the number of fake accounts on the social media platform

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'The bird is freed', says Elon Musk after taking over Twitter

New Delhi: Billionaire Elon Musk has taken control of Twitter becoming the new owner of the microblogging site. After completing $44 billion deal on the eve of a deadline given by a US court to avoid trial, he not just fired former chief executive officer Parag Agarwal along with several other executives but also tweeted a cryptic post on Friday that reads, “The bird is freed”.

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The tweet appears to be about Twitter which has a blur bird as its logo.

Elon Musk takes over Twitter

The Tesla CEO closed the deal to buy Twitter on Thursday (October 27, 2022). As per reports, soon after taking over, Musk “has started cleaning at Twitter with the firing of at least four top executives.”

The final closure of the deal removes a cloud of uncertainty that has hung over Twitter’s business, employees and shareholders for much of the year.

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Musk had initially agreed to buy Twitter in April. Later, he spent months attempting to get out of the deal, first citing concerns about the number of bots on the platform and later allegations raised by a company whistle-blower.

He has promised to transform Twitter by loosening the service’s content moderation rules, making its algorithm more transparent and nurturing subscription businesses.

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Before closing the acquisition, Musk on Wednesday walked into Twitter’s headquarters carrying a porcelain sink and even tweeted, “let that sink in.”

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He changed his description in his Twitter profile to “Chief Twit.”

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Musk’s motivation in acquiring Twitter

In a letter, Musk said that the reason he acquired Twitter “is because it is important to future of civilisation to have a common digital town square, where a wide range of beliefs can be debated in a healthy manner, without resorting to violence.”

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He went on to say that currently there is “great danger” that “social media will splinter into far right wing and far left wing echo chambers that generate more hate and divide our society.”

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Twitter to ‘help humanity’

After closing the deal, Musk on Thursday night shared a letter addressed to Twitter’s advertisers. In the letter, he revealed that he is buying Twitter to “help humanity”.

He also promised that Twitter would not be free, and the platform is not a “free-for-all hellscape, where anything can be said with no consequences”.

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Elon Musk sacks top Twitter executives. Who are they?

After over six months of negotiations and talks, Musk took over Twitter and immediately fired the former Chief Executive Officer Parag Agrawal, Chief Financial Officer Ned Segal and legal affairs and policy chief Vijaya Gadde.

Agrawal was appointed Twitter CEO in November 2021 after the social media site’s co-founder Jack Dorsey had stepped down.

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Musk accused them of misleading him and Twitter investors over the number of fake accounts on the social media platform.

A report by New York Times said that at least one of the executives who was fired was escorted out of Twitter’s office.

Elon Musk and his Twitter deal

Musk and Twitter $44 billion acquisition began on April 4 when he announced that he had a 9.2 per cent stake in the company, making him the largest shareholder.

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By mid-May, Musk, however, changed his mind about purchasing Twitter and cited concerns that the number of fake accounts on the micro-blogging site was higher than what the company claimed. Soon he announced his unwillingness of going ahead with the $44 billion deal. Twitter then argued that Musk was legally committed to buying the company and filed a lawsuit.

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Musk made a U-turn earlier this month, when he was set to be deposed by Twitter’s lawyers ahead of the start of their trial and offered to complete the deal.

With inputs from agencies

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