After completing his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter Inc., Elon Musk intends to take the helm of the social media behemoth in addition to guiding Tesla Inc. and SpaceX.
Musk aims to replace Parag Agrawal, who was sacked along with other major executives following the completion of the merger, according to a source familiar with the subject who requested anonymity to disclose internal deliberations. The billionaire is expected to stay CEO in the interim but may eventually relinquish the position in the long run, according to the source. Representatives from Twitter declined to respond.
Musk also aims to do away with permanent user bans since he does not believe in lifelong prohibitions, according to the source. That implies users who were previously kicked off the platform, like former President Donald Trump, may be allowed to return, according to the source. It’s uncertain whether Trump will be able to return to Twitter in the near future.
The takeover concludes a complicated process that began in January with the billionaire’s secret acquisition of a significant share in the company, his growing dissatisfaction with how it is governed, and an eventual merger agreement that he later spent months trying to unravel.
The billionaire’s arrival will cause immediate disruption to Twitter’s operations, in part because many of his ideas for changing the firm go counter to how it has been run for years. He has stated that he wants to protect “free speech” on the social network.
Twitter suspended Trump’s account just days after the 2021 Capitol insurgency, citing the “potential of additional inciting of violence.” With the former president largely anticipated to run for president again in 2024, a return to Twitter could provide him with an opportunity to amp up his message.
More broadly, Musk’s ambitions risk undoing years of work by Twitter to minimise bullying and harassment on the platform.
The idea of less stringent content moderation under Musk’s leadership has raised concerns that the social network’s discussion could deteriorate, undermining years of efforts by the firm and its “trust and safety” team to curb offensive or harmful remarks. Musk sent a statement to advertisers on Thursday, assuring them that he does not want Twitter to become a “free-for-all hellscape.”
As the Oct. 28 deadline approached, Musk began to stamp his mark on the company, broadcasting a video of himself entering the headquarters and altering his profile descriptor on the platform he now owned to “Chief Twit.”
He arranged meetings between Tesla engineers and Twitter product executives, and he planned to address the workforce on Friday, according to sources familiar with the situation. According to the people, Twitter’s developers could no longer make modifications to code as of noon Thursday in San Francisco, as part of an effort to guarantee that nothing about the product changes until the deal closes.
According to persons familiar with the situation, while visiting Twitter headquarters on Wednesday, Musk told employees that he does not intend to lay off 75% of the company’s employees when he takes over.
The last six months have been difficult for Twitter employees, who have mostly followed the ups and downs of the roller-coaster agreement via news headlines.
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