Elon Musk fired top executives after Twitter Inc seized ownership and said, “The Bird has been released.”
After completing the $44 billion acquisition on Thursday, Musk tweeted, “The bird has been released,” in reference to Twitter’s bird logo, a clear reference to the company’s desire to see it have fewer limits on the content that can be shared.
The CEO of electric car maker Tesla Inc and self-identified absolutist of free speech also said he wanted to prevent the platform from becoming an echo chamber for hatred and division.
Other goals include “defeating” spam bots on Twitter and making it publicly available algorithms that determine how content is served to its users.
However, Musk did not elaborate on how he will achieve all this and who will run the company. He said he plans to layoffs, making Twitter’s 7,500 employees worry about their future.
He also said on Thursday that he bought Twitter not to make more money, but “to try to help the humanity I love.”
Less than 10% voted “yes” in a poll on messaging app Blind about whether Twitter employees should be hired within three months.
While 38% of the 266 respondents said “No”, more than 55% chose the “popcorn” option. Blind allows employees to voice their grievances through anonymous messaging that they can sign up with their corporate email.
According to people familiar with the matter, Musk fired Twitter Chief Executive Parag Agrawal, Chief Financial Officer Ned Segal and chief legal and policy Vijaya Gadde.
He accused these people of misleading him and Twitter investors about the number of fake accounts on the platform.
The sources added that Agrawal and Segal were at Twitter’s headquarters in San Francisco when the deal closed and were kicked out.
‘TWIT CHEF’
Before signing the deal, Musk changed his Twitter profile description to “Chief Twit” on Wednesday.
It also sought to placate employees’ fears that major layoffs were imminent, and assured advertisers that past criticism of Twitter’s content moderation rules would not undermine Twitter’s appeal.
In an open letter to advertisers on Thursday, Musk said: “Of course Twitter can’t turn into a free-for-all hell where anything can be said without consequences!”
With the news of the agreement spreading, some Twitter users were quick to indicate that they wanted to leave.
European regulators have also echoed past warnings under Musk’s leadership that Twitter must comply with the region’s Digital Services Act, which imposes heavy fines on companies if they don’t control illegal content.
Musk also said in May that he would roll back the Donald Trump ban, which was lifted after the attack on the US Capitol. The former US president said he would not return to the platform and instead launched his own social media app, Truth Social.
Musk said he sees Twitter as a foundation for creating a “super app” that offers everything from money transfers to shopping to ride-hailing.
But Twitter is struggling to engage its most active users, which is vital to the company. These “heavy tweeters” make up less than 10% of total monthly users but generate 90% of all tweets and half of global revenue.
What had happened?
The road to the realization of the deal was full of twists and turns that cast doubt on whether the deal would happen. It all started on April 4, when Musk announced that he owns 9.2% of Twitter, becoming the company’s largest shareholder.
The richest person in the world later agreed to join Twitter’s board of directors, but gave up at the last moment and instead offered to buy the company for $54.20 per share.
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