World’s richest Man, Elon Musk has officially taken control of Twitter after finalising a $44bn deal, putting an end to a six-month saga over the future of the social media giant.
The Tesla CEO’s first decisions at the helm of Twitter includes the firing of three top executives.
Amongst the executives fired was the CEO Parag Agrawal, according to reports by multiple United State based media outlets, most of whom cited people familiar with the matter.
The Chief Financial Officer Ned Segal and Vi-jaya Gadde, head of legal, policy, and trust, were also fired.
The Washington Post citing unnamed source, reported that amongst those fired was Sean Edgett, Twitter’s general counsel, was also fired.
Neither Elon Musk nor Twitter have confirmed the firings.
The Tesla CEO’s purchase caps a six-month saga that saw Twitter initially resist Musk’s purchase offer and then sue the billionaire after he signalled he would nix the deal over concerns about spam accounts and whistleblower claims about lax cybersecurity practices.
In one of his tweets, Elon Musk wrote “the bird is freed.”
the bird is freed
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 28, 2022
Musk, who describes himself as a “free speech absolutist”, has criticised Twitter’s moderation policies and objected to censorship that goes beyond the requirements of the law. In May, Musk said he would reinstate former US President Donald Trump’s Twitter account, which was removed for allegedly inciting violence in the wake of the January 6 riots at the US Capitol.
Musk released a long statement to “Twitter Advertisers to share his motivation in acquiring Twitter.
In his words, he said, “The reason I acquired Twitter is because it is important to the future of civilization to have a common digital square, where a wide range of beliefs can be debated in a healthy manner, without resorting to violence.”
Dear Twitter Advertisers pic.twitter.com/GMwHmInPAS
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 27, 2022
Nnamdi Maduakor is a Writer, Investor and Entrepreneur
