According to media reports, the era of Elon Musk on Twitter has begun with layoffs in the boardroom. On Thursday, for example, the previous CEO, Parag Agrawal and Chief Financial Officer Ned Segal was fired, as well as CNBC and the Wall Street Journal reported. According to information from the financial service Bloomberg, Musk initially wanted to take over the top job himself. Only with time could he hand over the job to someone else.
He wants to abolish blocks for users on Twitter
Musk is already head of electric car manufacturer Tesla and its space company SpaceX, among others. He also leads smaller projects such as the tunnelling company Boring Company and the research company Neuralink, which develops technologies for directly networking with people and computers.
According to the report, Musk also wants to implement his announcement to abolish lifetime bans for users on Twitter. According to previous information, such an irreversible ban is affected, among others, by American ex-President Donald Trump. Whether the abolition of the lifetime bans would also change Trump’s position is still unclear, Bloomberg said.
Trump had expressed himself as US President in a Twitter Video praising his supporters, who stormed the Capitol in Washington on January 6, 2021. As a result, he was banned from the platform. Among those dismissed on Thursday was the top manager responsible for the fight against hate speech and false information, Vijaya Gadde, according to reports.
“The bird is liberated”
In his usual manner, Musk hinted after the Twitter takeover with a somewhat cryptic tweet. “The bird is liberated,” he wrote without further details. The Twitter logo is a bluebird – and Musk has always emphasized freeing the platform from what he sees as too strong restrictions on freedom of expression. Critics fear he could encourage hate speech and incitement, against which Twitter’s teams have fought for years.
Musk had repeatedly criticized Agrawal and the Twitter leadership in recent months. At least one of the managers had been escorted out of the company headquarters, wrote the New York Times, citing informed persons. According to Bloomberg, it was general counsel Sean Edgett. An official announcement on the completion of the approximately 44 billion dollar takeover was still pending.
According to the New York Times, whether the deal had already been completed during the layoffs also needed to be clarified. According to the Washington Post and Wall Street Journal, the tech billionaire has been the owner of Twitter since Thursday.
The transaction must be completed by Friday at 17:00 East Coast time (23:00 CEST); otherwise, the deal will end in court. A judge set Musk and Twitter this deadline to finally settle the takeover after months of back and forth. The stock should be suspended from trading according to an announcement on Friday morning US East Coast time – an indication of an upcoming report.
Twitter dragged Musk to court.
Musk had arranged the takeover but then tried to get out of the deal concerning allegedly false information on the number of fake accounts on Twitter. Twitter dragged him to court – and Musk agreed shortly before the start of the trial in the state of Delaware to buy Twitter at the initially agreed price of $ 54.20 per share. However, the fact that he made the termination of the court proceedings a condition caused uncertainty until the end.
The fact that Musk has resigned himself to his new role as the Twitter owner has been apparent for days. On Wednesday, he appeared at the company’s headquarters in San Francisco and described himself in his Twitter profile as “Chief Twit”. On Friday, according to US media, he wants to introduce himself to the workers there on a larger scale.
This should be a challenging appearance for him after reports of significant job cuts recently caused uncertainty among employees. Information that he wanted to throw out three-quarters of the employees, he is said to have rejected this week in the headquarters.
Musk tried on Thursday to reassure advertisers and users who fear a brutalization of the tone of the online service under him. Twitter should not become a “place of horror” where everything can be said without consequences, Musk wrote in an open letter to advertisers. The platform must be “warm and welcoming to everyone,” Musk wrote.
Twitter bought “to help humanity.”
He did not buy Twitter because it would be easy or to make more money, Musk wrote. “I did it to help the humanity I love,” he proclaimed. And he approaches the task with humility – and the knowledge that he could fail despite all efforts. Musk always justified the purchase with the concern of strengthening freedom of speech.
In May, Musk called Trump’s ban on Twitter “morally wrong and just plain stupid.” Returning to the influential network would come just in time for Trump’s possible candidacy in the 2024 presidential election. He was satisfied with the presence on his own Twitter copy, Truth Social. However, he has only a few million followers there, instead of over 80 million once on Twitter.
Commentary
The recent takeover of Twitter by Elon Musk has created a stir in the social media world. Musk has always been a controversial figure, and his recent actions on Twitter have only added to the controversy. Many have questioned the impact of his tweets on the markets, and some have accused him of manipulating them. This has led to calls for greater regulation of his social media use, and some have even suggested that he should be banned from the platform altogether.
However, it is essential to remember that Twitter is not just about Elon Musk. It is a platform used by millions of people worldwide to express their opinions and connect with others. While Musk’s tweets may generate headlines and cause market fluctuations, they do not represent the entire platform.
At the same time, it is clear that Musk’s takeover of Twitter has had some impact on the platform. He has made some changes to the staff and has floated the idea of introducing new monetization strategies. This has led to speculation about his ultimate goals for the platform and what he may do with it.
It is also worth noting that Twitter has had its fair share of controversies in recent years. From accusations of censorship to concerns about fake news and hate speech, the platform has faced significant challenges in maintaining a healthy and productive user environment. While Musk’s takeover may add to these challenges, they are familiar and familiar to his platform ownership.
At the end
Ultimately, the future of Twitter will depend on a range of factors, including how it adapts to changing market conditions, how it responds to user concerns, and how it manages the impact of high-profile users like Elon Musk. However, it is essential to remember that Twitter is more than just one person or controversy. It is a platform that has the potential to bring people together, spark meaningful conversations, and drive positive change in the world. As such, it is worth paying attention to what is happening on Twitter and thinking about how we can all use the platform to benefit ourselves and others.
