The richest man in the world has completed his $44 billion takeover of the social media platform Twitter, and began his reign by firing top executives, Reuters reports.
Elon Musk tweeted “the bird is freed” just hours before a court-ordered deadline to buy the business expired.
Shortly after taking the helm of Twitter, Musk reportedly ousted several senior figures, including chief executive Parag Agrawal, chief financial officer Ned Segal, and Vijaya Gadde, the head of legal policy, trust and safety.
Agrawal and Segal were in Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters when the deal closed, and were escorted out.
While Musk immediately fired the executives, he provided little clarity over how he will achieve the lofty ambitions he has outlined for the influential platform.
Musk has made it abundantly clear that he has the desire to see the company have fewer limits on the content that can be posted.
But the self-described free-speech absolutist has also claimed he wants to prevent the platform from becoming an echo chamber for hate and division.
He has not ever provided details about how this would work, how he will achieve these goals, or who would run the company.
Musk said he plans to cut jobs, leaving Twitter’s 7,500 employees fretting about their future. He also said on Thursday he did not buy Twitter to make more money but “to try to help humanity, whom I love.”
Musk plans to become Twitter’s CEO after completing the acquisition.
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO also plans to scrap any permanent bans on users, meaning former president Donald Trump may soon be back on the platform, among others.
Before closing the deal, Musk walked into Twitter’s headquarters on Wednesday with a big grin and a porcelain sink, subsequently tweeting “let that sink in.” He changed his Twitter profile description to “Chief Twit.”
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