Twitter takeover under way as Elon Musk said to have fired top executives

Jump to contentSign up to our newslettersSubscribeNewsSportsVoicesCultureLifestyleTravelPremiumTechAdam Smith,Graeme MassieFriday 28 October 2022 04:59CommentsCloseElon Musk arrives at Twitter HQ carrying actual kitchen sink amid $44bn purchaseThe Elon Musk era at Twitter seems to have officially begun. Top executives including CEO Parag Agrawal, CFO Ned Segal, and legal chief Vijaya Gadde have all reportedly been fired.This after the billionaire bizarrely arrived on Wednesday at Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters carrying a kitchen sink ahead of closing his $44bn deal to purchase the micro-blogging site.’Entering Twitter HQ – let that sink in!’ the Tesla CEO tweeted. Mr Musk changed his Twitter profile to refer to himself as ‘Chief Twit’ and his location as Twitter headquarters.A court had given him until Friday to close his April agreement to acquire the company after he earlier tried to back out of the deal. Mr Musk, the world’s richest person, agreed to buy the company for $54.20 a share in April, but by July had indicated that he had changed his mind, citing bot and spam issues.He renewed his attempt to acquire the company earlier this month.Mr Musk reportedly told Twitter employees during his visit that he does not plan to cut 75 per cent of the staff after acquiring the company. 1666929540Elon Musk has completed his takeover of Twitter and is now in control of one of the most influential social media platforms.After a protracted saga around the acquisition, the biggest questions now are how will Mr Musk run Twitter and how might it change? Here is a closer look at some of the biggest and most controversial changes that could be coming:The Tesla boss has completed his takeover of the social media platform after months of sparring with the company.Maroosha Muzaffar28 October 2022 04:591666927770Elon Musk has promised to make big changes to Twitter as part of his goal of making it an ‘everything app’ with one billion users. Tech experts say he has his work cut out, Bevan Hurley reports.Elon Musk has promised to make big changes to Twitter as part of his goal of making it an ‘everything app’ with one billion users. Tech experts say he has his work cut out, Bevan Hurleyreports Graeme Massie28 October 2022 04:291666926238ICYMI: Mr Musk messaged one or more unknown individuals about ‘letting right wingers back on Twitter’ including, it seems, former president Donald Trump who was banned from the platform in January 2021 because of the ‘risk of further incitement of violence’ after the Capitol Hill riots.’It will be a delicate game of letting right wingers back on Twitter and how to navigate that (especially the boss himself, if you’re up for that)’, the message reads,’I would also lay out the standards early but have someone who has a savvy cultural/political view to be the VP of actual enforcement. A Blake Masters type.’The messages were released as a part of the ongoing documentation ahead of Elon Musk’s trial against TwitterGraeme Massie28 October 2022 04:031666924290The one-term president was exiled from Facebook and Twitter after January 6 riot and started his own platform Truth Social.John Bowden has the story.Trump was exiled from Facebook and Twitter after January 6 riot Graeme Massie28 October 2022 03:311666922936Elon Musk has tweeted his plans for Twitter and how it might moderate content, ahead of his purchase of the social media site.The post has reneged on his ‘free speech absolutism’, as he says Twitter ‘cannot become a free-for-all hellscape, where anything can be said with no consequences.’ Previously, Mr Musk said that he was ‘against censorship that goes beyond the law’ – a rule that, in the United States, would have caused trouble for Twitter’s moderators by potentially allowing Holocaust denial.’I also very much believe that advertising, when done right, can delight, entertain and inform you; it can show you a service or product or medical treatment that you never knew existed, but is right for you. For this to be true, it is essential to show Twitter users advertising that is as relevant as possible to their needs. Low relevancy ads are spam, but highly relevant ads are actually content!’Mr Musk also claimed that there was a ‘great danger that social media will splinter into far right wing and far left wing echo chambers that generate more hate and divide our society.”The reason I acquired Twitter is because it is important to the future of civilization to have a common digital town square’, the billionaire said Josh Marcus28 October 2022 03:081666920646Elon Musk hasn’t just been making headlines this year with his acquistion of Twitter.This summer, it came out that the Tesla CEO secretly fathered twins with a high-ranking executive in November of 2021, weeks before the birth of his second child with partner Grimes.The Tesla CEO secretly fathered twins with a high-ranking executive in November, weeks before the birth of his second child with partner Grimes He was also accused of sexually harassing a flight attendant on a private jet, which he has denied.Allegations ‘utterly untrue’ and ‘politically motivated’, tweets Tesla chief executive Josh Marcus28 October 2022 02:301666919758ICYMI: Elon Musk has criticised Donald Trump’s Truth Social in the past, calling it an echo chamber.In an interview with The Financial Times published on Friday, Mr Musk admitted that he knows more headaches are coming his way if his ongoing Twitter bid materialises. However, the Tesla founder said that is a sacrifice he is willing to make in order to protect free speech.Mr Musk said he is on a personal quest to keep discourse on the social network from becoming one-sided, as Truth Social’s content has become for the right.'[Truth Social] is essentially a rightwing echo chamber,’ Mr Musk told the Times. ‘It might as well be called Trumpet.’But in May, Mr Musk also said that he doesn’t think it was appropriate to ban Trump from Twitter, adding that ‘it was a mistake because it alienated a large part of the country and did not ultimately result in Donald Trump not having a voice.”It might as well be called Trumpet,’ Mr Musk told The Financial TimesJosh Marcus28 October 2022 02:151666919146If today is in fact the day Elon Musk has formally taken over Twitter, it would mark a momentous day in the tech industry.As the Tesla billionaire assumes control, his rival Mark Zuckerberg at Meta has been struggling with a precipitously plunging stock price.Here’s Martyn Landi with more information on what’s going on the company FKA Facebook.Revenue and profits are falling for the owner of Facebook and Instagram.Josh Marcus28 October 2022 02:051666918954Elon Musk’s takeover is under way after he fired three top executives, including CEO Parag Agrawal, according to the Washington Post.Graeme Massie is following this breaking news story for The Independent.Elon Musk’s takeover is underway after he fired three top executives, including CEO Parag Agrawal, according to the Washington Post.Josh Marcus28 October 2022 02:021666918589Three top executives at Twitter-CEO Parag Agrawal, CFO Ned Segal, and legal chief Vijaya Gadde-have all been fired, The Washington Post reports, as Elon Musk’s takeover of the social media site formally begins.Mr Musk has previously clashed with Mr Agrawal during the billionaire’s rocky acquisition bid for Twitter.In May, the Tesla billionaire even resorted to sending the CEO a message with a poop emoji as the two clashed publicly over issues like the extent of bots on Twitter.Entrepreneur worried about ‘fundamental health of Twitter’ Josh Marcus28 October 2022 01:56Registration is a free and easy way to support our truly independent journalismBy registering, you will also enjoy limited access to Premium articles, exclusive newsletters, commenting, and virtual events with our leading journalistsAlready have an account? sign inRegistration is a free and easy way to support our truly independent journalismBy registering, you will also enjoy limited access to Premium articles, exclusive newsletters, commenting, and virtual events with our leading journalistsAlready have an account? sign inElon MuskTwitterSan FranciscoTeslaElon Musk enters Twitter headquarters carrying a sink APPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in