Top Twitter executives fired as Elon Musk’s takeover begins

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SAN FRANCISCO — Elon Musk turned Twitter’s proprietor late Thursday as his $44 billion deal to take over the corporate closed.

As one among his first strikes, he fired a number of high Twitter executives, in response to three folks acquainted with the matter who spoke on the situation of anonymity to debate delicate issues. A kind of confirmed the deal had closed.

CEO Parag Agrawal, chief monetary officer Ned Segal and Vijaya Gadde, head of authorized coverage, belief and security, have been all fired, in response to the folks. Sean Edgett, the corporate’s basic counsel, was additionally pushed out, one of many folks mentioned. The highest executives have been swiftly shuttled from the constructing, the folks mentioned.

Musk’s strikes late Thursday sign his intentions to place his stamp firmly one of many world’s most influential social media firms. Musk has publicly criticized Twitter’s outgoing administration over product choices and content material moderation, in addition to saying he would restore former president Donald Trump’s account.

Nonetheless, “Twitter clearly can not turn into a free-for-all hellscape, the place something could be mentioned with no penalties!” Musk tweeted Thursday.

The closure of the deal capped a monthslong curler coaster saga by which the billionaire — the world’s richest man — performed a hostile takeover to purchase the corporate at an inflated value, solely to renege on the deal after which enter right into a bitter authorized battle with the social community.

However in latest days, Musk appeared resigned, and even enthusiastic, about his impending possession. He confirmed up on the firm’s places of work unexpectedly on Wednesday, carrying a sink to recommend that the message that he would turn into proprietor wanted to “sink in,” in response to a photograph he posted to his greater than 100 million Twitter followers.

He plans to carry a companywide city corridor on Friday.

Neither Twitter nor the executives responded instantly to a request for remark.

The strikes place the heralded entrepreneur on the helm of one of many world’s strongest communication platforms simply days forward of main elections within the U.S. and Brazil.

Musk, a transportation magnate who can be CEO of Austin-based Tesla and SpaceX, has supplied some clues about what he would do when he took over Twitter — regardless of having no expertise working a social media service.

He has instructed that he needs to loosen requirements for the policing of dangerous content material comparable to misinformation and hate speech. He has additionally decried so-called censorship by social media firms.

He has repeatedly criticized the corporate and supported on-line assaults towards particular person executives. He has advised potential traders and companions that he needs to execute a monetary turnaround of the corporate by firing almost 75% of the workforce and leaning in to new enterprise alternatives, together with having folks subscribe to unique content material from widespread influencers on the service.

Musk represents a unique type of proprietor of a social media firm than his predecessor, Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, or his now-rival Fb CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Over the course of his Twitter bid, he has at occasions styled himself a reasonable but in addition introduced plans to vote for a Republican president in 2024. He has additionally weighed in on geopolitical conflicts between China and Taiwan and on the Ukraine battle.