Main Highlights:
- Elon Musk takes over Twitter, and immediately fired Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal, policy chief Vijaya Gadde and CFO Nel Segal.
- Billionaire tweets ‘the bird is freed’ after closing $44 billion deal and ousting CEO Parag Agrawal, CFO Ned Segal, among others.
- With Musk’s arrival, finance chief Ned Segal is said to have left the company’s San Francisco headquarters.
Elon Musk took over Twitter Inc. on Thursday, ousting key executives and offering little information about how he plans to reach the ambitious goals he has set for the powerful social media network.
“The bird is released,” he tweeted, referring to Twitter’s bird emblem in an apparent reference to his wish for the website to have fewer restrictions on what may be posted.
Musk, however, has not provided details on how he would do all of this or who will lead the firm. He has stated that he intends to lay off people, leaving Twitter’s 7,500 employees concerned about their future.
He also stated on Thursday that he purchased Twitter not to gain more money, but rather to “try to serve mankind, whom I adore.” According to persons familiar with the situation, Musk dismissed Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal, Manager Financial Officer Ned Segal, and legal affairs and policy chief Vijaya Gadde. He accused them of deceiving him and Twitter investors about the amount of bogus accounts on the network.
According to the sources, Agrawal and Segal were in Twitter’s San Francisco offices when the deal completed and were taken out.
Musk, who also owns the rocket business SpaceX, intends to become Twitter’s CEO when the acquisition is completed, citing a person familiar with the situation.
Requests for comment from Twitter, Musk, and the executives were not immediately returned.
Musk arrived into Twitter’s offices on Wednesday with a broad grin and a porcelain sink, writing “let that sink in” before sealing the $44 billion deal. He altered the title of his Twitter profile to “Chief Twit.”
He also attempted to assuage staff concerns about impending layoffs and reassured advertisers that his previous criticism of Twitter’s content moderation standards would not affect the platform’s appeal.
“Obviously, Twitter cannot become a free-for-all hellscape where anything may be uttered without consequence!” Musk stated this in an open letter to marketers published on Thursday.
As word of the transaction circulated, several Twitter users expressed their desire to walk away.
Musk has stated that he views Twitter as a platform for developing a “super app” that would include services ranging from money transfers to retail and ride-hailing.
However, Twitter is having difficulty engaging its most engaged users, who are critical to the company’s success. These “heavy tweeters” account for fewer than 10% of all monthly users yet create 90% of all tweets and half of all worldwide income.
The deal’s path to completion was fraught with twists and turns that cast doubt on its viability. It all started on April 4, when Musk revealed a 9.2% interest in Twitter, making him the company’s largest stakeholder.
The world’s wealthiest person then agreed to join Twitter’s board, only to back out at the last minute and offer to acquire the firm for $54.20 per share, which Twitter mistook for another of Musk’s pot jokes.
Musk‘s offer was genuine, and the two parties signed an agreement at the indicated amount only one weekend later in April. This occurred without Musk performing any due diligence on the company’s proprietary information.
Parag Agrawal vs. Elon Musk
The acquisition of the social media site by the world’s richest person brings to an end a protracted court struggle and months of animosity between Elon Musk and previous Twitter executives.
Elon Musk and Parag Agrawal had a lot of bad blood between them, and none of it was concealed from the public view thanks to the lawsuit, which made their scathing messaging exchanges public. “I don’t trust management,” Musk declared in an early filing about the acquisition. “You are welcome to tweet ‘is Twitter dying?’ or anything else about Twitter,” stated Parag Agrawal, “but it is my obligation to warn you that it is not helping me make Twitter better in the current environment.”
“What did you accomplish this week?” Elon Musk publicly chastised Parag and expressed reservations about the acquisition, writing, “I’m not joining the board this is a waste of time.”
Elon Musk’s visit to Twitter headquarters, as well as a message to advertisers
Elon Musk visited Twitter’s offices a day before the transaction was completed and updated his bio to ‘Chief Twit.’ Then, in a statement to Twitter advertisers, he stated that he purchased Twitter because the future of civilization requires a “shared digital town square.” “There is presently a significant risk that social media may fracture into far right and far left echo chambers, generating more hate and dividing our society.”
“I didn’t do it because it was simple. I didn’t do it for the money. I did it to assist mankind, which I adore “Elon Musk sent a letter.
What is the deal with Parag Agrawal?
Parag Agrawal will not go empty-handed. According to a document, the CEO will get 100% of his unvested stock awards as part of the arrangement. According to Reuters, research company Equilar estimates that he will earn $42 million.
