Elon Musk has taken control of Twitter, ousting its CEO, chief financial officer and company general counsel, two people familiar with the deal said Thursday night.
Officials declined to say if all the paperwork for the deal, which was originally valued at $44 billion, was signed or if the deal went through. But they said Musk was in charge of the social media platform and fired CEO Parag Agrawal, CFO Ned Segal and general counsel Vijaya Gadde. Neither person wanted to be identified because of the confidentiality of the transaction.
The departure comes just hours before the deadline set by a Delaware judge on Friday to finalize the deal. She threatened to schedule a trial if no agreement was reached.
The major personnel changes are expected to be the first of many changes made by Musk, which Musk said could increase Twitter’s subscriber base and revenue.
Earlier in the day, Musk appeased a disgruntled Twitter advertiser by saying he was buying the platform to help humanity and didn’t want it to become a “hell for everyone.” I tried
The message is that among Twitter’s main source of revenue, advertisers, Musk’s plans to promote free speech by curtailing content moderation will open the floodgates to more online toxicity, causing users to It seems intended to address the concern of keeping the .
“The reason I bought Twitter is because it is important to the future of civilization to have a common digital town square where a wide range of beliefs can be discussed in a healthy way without resorting to violence,” Musk wrote. very long message Tesla CEOs typically project their thoughts in one-line tweets.
“There is now a great danger that social media will split into far-right and far-left echo chambers, creating more hate and dividing our society.”
Musk has previously expressed disgust with advertising and Twitter’s reliance on advertising, and has focused on other business models such as paid subscriptions that do not allow large companies to dictate policies on how social media operates. It suggests that you are placing But on Thursday, he promised advertisers that he wanted Twitter to become “the most respected advertising platform in the world.”
According to Pinal Yurdirim, an associate professor of marketing at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, the memo supports Musk’s position that Twitter unfairly infringes on free speech by blocking misinformation and graphic content. It is said that it is a conversion from
But she also recognizes that not moderating content is bad for business and puts Twitter at risk of losing advertisers and subscribers.
“We don’t want a place where consumers are bombarded with things they don’t want to hear and the platform doesn’t hold them accountable,” said Yildirim.
Musk said Twitter should “welcome everyone” and let users choose the experience they want.
“We didn’t do it to make money,” he said of the pending acquisition. “I did it to help the human race I love.
Friday’s closing deadline was ordered by the Delaware Court of Chancery in early October. It’s the latest step in a battle that began with Musk signing a deal to buy his Twitter back in April, and then tried to pull out, with Twitter suing his CEO of Tesla to force the takeover. I came to If both sides fail to meet Friday’s deadline, the next step could be a trial in November, where a judge could force Musk to complete the deal.
However, Musk suggests that the deal is closed. He stopped by the company’s San Francisco headquarters Wednesday with a porcelain sink, changed his Twitter profile to “Chief Tweet,” murmured “Enter Twitter HQ — let it sink!”
And overnight, the New York Stock Exchange informed investors that it would halt trading in Twitter shares before the opening bell on Friday in anticipation of the company going private under the mask. .
According to an internal memo cited by multiple media outlets, Musk plans to speak directly with Twitter employees on Friday if the deal goes through. Despite internal turmoil and low morale linked to fears of layoffs and dismantling of the company’s culture and operations, Twitter leaders this week welcomed Musk’s arrival and message, at least outwardly. There is
The company’s chief customer officer and chief sales officer, Sarah Parsonette, said she had a “great discussion” with Musk on Wednesday, appearing to support Thursday’s message to advertisers.
“Our continued commitment to advertiser brand safety remains unchanged,” Personnett tweeted Thursday. “Look forward to the future!”
Musk’s eagerness to visit Twitter’s headquarters this week contrasted with one of his earlier proposals.
The Washington Post reported last week that Musk told prospective investors that he plans to cut three-quarters of Twitter’s 7,500 employees when he becomes the company’s owner. The newspaper cited documents and unnamed sources familiar with the deliberations.
Musk has spent months mocking Twitter’s “spambots” and making contradictory statements about what’s wrong with Twitter and how to fix it. However, he has provided few concrete details about his plans for the social media platform.
Thursday’s memo to advertisers showed a renewed emphasis on advertising revenue, and in particular Twitter’s need to deliver more “relevant ads.” This usually means targeted advertising that relies on the collection and analysis of a user’s personal information.
Yildirim said Twitter, unlike Facebook, is not good at targeting ads to what users want to see. Musk’s message suggests he wants to fix it, she said.
Jasmine Enberg, principal analyst at Insider Intelligence, said Mr. Musk has good reason to avoid massive disruption to Twitter’s advertising business. Other income streams waiting in the wings. ”
“Even a slight relaxation of content moderation on the platform will undoubtedly surprise advertisers, many of whom believe Twitter lacks brand safety tools compared to other social platforms. We have already noticed,” says Enberg.
