Elon Musk Follows Through on Plans for Twitter Takeover
(ConservativeHub.com) – The wild ride describing Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter finally ended on October 27 when the two sides finalized the sale. From April 11, when he first announced his plans to take over the company, to October 26, when he made a surprise visit to the headquarters carrying a kitchen sink, nobody really knew what would happen when he finally took over. People still aren’t sure even now that the purchase is final.
The Deal Is Final
Musk made it clear the $44 billion Twitter buyout was final on October 27. That evening, he posted on the platform and stated, “The bird is freed.” Still, the revelation was a long time coming.
the bird is freed
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 28, 2022
For months, Twitter and Musk went back and forth over the deal. On April 25, they reached the initial agreement, but by May 13, the tech billionaire said things were on hold. He had concerns about the number of spam accounts on the platform and said the company refused to provide him with numbers. Then, on July 8, he announced the purchase was off the table.
Twitter wasn’t happy and filed a lawsuit against the billionaire for the bad-faith deal. On July 29, Musk countersued, saying the company misled him. Yet, on October 4, the Tesla CEO offered to pay the original amount he had planned to buy the platform.
But concerns still abound about what he’ll do with the platform now that he’s in charge.
He is taking the company private, delisting on November 8. The move will allow him to do what he wants with it. He won’t have to report to the public or deal with as many.
Free Speech or a Free for All
Musk hasn’t been shy about his intentions to allow free speech on Twitter. He is a huge advocate of allowing people to speak their truth, whatever that may be. Still, he’s indicated understands the platform cannot become a wild west-like frontier.
On October 27, he released a message to Twitter advertisers to qualm fears that extremists would take over. Musk said he wanted to change the company’s path and make it a “digital town square.” He added wants to allow for open and diverse debate while not catering to extreme views.
Dear Twitter Advertisers pic.twitter.com/GMwHmInPAS
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 27, 2022
On October 28, Musk revealed in a post that the company will have a “content moderation council with widely diverse viewpoints.” He confirmed no content changes would occur until the council meets.
Twitter will be forming a content moderation council with widely diverse viewpoints.
No major content decisions or account reinstatements will happen before that council convenes.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 28, 2022
Cleaning House
People within the company also worried about whether Musk would immediately start firing people. He did. One of his acts as the new owner was axing some top executives.
On his first day as the new owner, he fired CEO Parag Agrawal, CFO Ned Segal, and General Counsel Sean Edgett. He also dismissed Vijaya Gadde, head of legal policy, trust and safety. Chief Customer Officer Sarah Personette then revealed on November 1 that she stepped down from her position. Chief People and Diversity Officer Dalana Brand announced her resignation the same day.
What do you think of this mass exodus of Twitter executives? Is it a sign of big changes to come?
Copyright 2022, ConservativeHub.com
