Musk tweeted after the takeover that “the bird is liberated,” alluding to the business’ well-known avian logo.
He fired the company’s chief executive officer, Parag Agrawal, as well as its chief financial officer and head of safety right away, according to unnamed sources cited by the Washington Post and CNBC.
The Tesla CEO was previously held to the terms of a settlement by Agrawal in court when he attempted to renege on them.
The takeover occurred hours ahead of Musk’s court-imposed deadline to finalize his on-again, off-again agreement to buy the social media network.
Musk stated in a tweet earlier in the day that he was purchasing Twitter because having a common digital town square where a wide variety of beliefs can be discussed in a healthy way is crucial for the continuation of civilization.
Agrawal, Ned Segal, and Vijaya Gadde were thanked for their “collective contribution to Twitter” by the platform’s co-founder Biz Stone. Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the departure of its top executives.
“Massive talents all, and each a beautiful person.”
“Chief Twit,”
The agreement is the result of a protracted back-and-forth between the billionaire and the social network.
After his unsolicited offer was accepted in April, Musk attempted to back out of the Twitter deal. In July, he announced the cancellation of the agreement, claiming that Twitter had misled him about the number of fake “bot” accounts. Twitter has denied the claims.
Twitter responded by attempting to show that Musk was inventing justifications for leaving because he had changed his mind.
Twitter launched a lawsuit to enforce the terms of the deal after Musk sought to cancel the sale.
The erratic billionaire gave in and resumed his takeover scheme as a trial approached.
By changing his Twitter handle to “Chief Twit” and broadcasting a video of himself entering the company’s California headquarters with a briefcase, Musk indicated this week that the acquisition was on track.
On Thursday, he even uploaded a photo of himself mingling with others at the Twitter offices’ coffee shop.
Even though he and investors are “overpaying,” Musk claimed he was “enthusiastic” about the Twitter acquisition during a recent Tesla earnings call.
Twitter open for business?
According to a worker who requested anonymity so that they could speak more freely, some employees who would prefer not to work with Musk have already quit.
But other individuals, including myself, are ready to give him the benefit of the doubt, for the time being, the worker stated.
As Musk is notorious for teasing other Twitter users, the prospect of Musk owning Twitter has upset activists who worry about an increase in harassment and false information.
While acknowledging that Twitter “cannot become a free-for-all hellscape where anything can be uttered with no consequences,” Musk said he understands this.
It is anticipated that Musk will make it easier for former US president Donald Trump to rejoin the platform by reducing content monitoring to a bare minimum.
The then-president was prohibited out of fear that he might incite additional violence to overturn his electoral defeat, similar to the deadly attack on the Washington, D.C., Capitol.
Far-right users immediately expressed their happiness on the network by posting taunts like “masks don’t work” and other remarks in the mistaken notion that moderation policies will now be reduced.
Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee tweeted, “Free speech will always prevail,” drawing the retort, “says the party that bans books.”