Tesla Inc. and SpaceX Corp. chief executive Elon Musk has reportedly taken charge of Twitter Inc. as he completed his $44-billion takeover of the social media company.
Musk tweeted, “the bird is freed,” in reference to the deal being sealed, suggesting that he now owns San Francisco, California-based Twitter. The Tesla boss also updated his Twitter bio to “Chief Twit.”
Shares in Twitter rose 0.3% to $53.86 in after-hours trading on Friday.
Following the report, sources familiar with the matter said Twitter chief Parag Agrawal and finance chief Ned Segal have departed from the company’s headquarters and have no plans of coming back. The firm’s head of legal, Vijaya Gadde, has also been let go.
Potential Changes Ahead
The completion of the takeover concludes months of legal dispute. A Delaware Court judge has given Musk until this Friday to close his acquisition of Twitter or be subject to a legal fight with the group in November.
Still, the deal has raised questions about the platform’s future.
Musk on Thursday informed advertisers that social messaging services would not become a place where anything can be said without consequences.
Musk said he bought Twitter to provide civilization with a standard digital town square where different beliefs can be discussed properly, without violence.
It remains to be known how the world’s richest man will finance the deal. Earlier this year, Musk obtained some debt financing from several investment banks. He also received backing from a few high-profile investors, including venture capital firms and tech chief executives.
Cryptocurrency exchange Binance confirmed that it is one of the equity investors in Musk’s Twitter acquisition. Binance was one of the early backers of the takeover.
A change in Twitter’s management team still needs to be clarified, but concerning its next chief executive, Musk is likely to be one who will be in charge of the company.
Now it seems the Tesla chief has the authority. As a result, many users, who have been banned from Twitter for hate speech or disinformation, may have their suspension lifted and be able to return to the platform.
