For most market watchers or even casual observers of headlines over the last several years, the last 24 hours have been big: Elon Musk, the celebrated space entrepreneur, prolific and provocative Tweeter and the world’s richest man, has finally closed his $44 billion purchase of Twitter.
Elon Musk — who is also Tesla’s CEO —confirmed the deal in less than 280 characters. He now holds one of the world’s most powerful megaphones
Here’s what you – and Musk’s 110 million followers – need to know about his acquisition of the social media platform and his ownership of what he calls a “digital town square.”
That tweet was quickly met with a reply from European Union Internal Markets Commissioner Thierry Breton to Musk, who is a regular critic of international regulators.
Trump says Twitter now in “sane hands”
Former president Donald Trump also weighed in on the Twitter deal Friday, saying in a post on his own social media platform, Truth Social, that he considers Musk’s takeover to have placed the platform in “sane hands.”
Musk says he’ll “dig into” shadow bans as hate speech; slurs appear on Twitter
Reports began surfacing early Friday that hate speech and racial epithets are flying on Twitter. Holocaust deniers were also reported on the platform.
Twitter users were quick to note Friday that they were beginning to see changes in the way the platform worked and how it was removing bans on users previously limited on the site, sometimes as a direct result of tweeting Musk.
In answer to that, Musk tweeted Friday that he’ll be “digging in” more today on lifting shadow bans and rolling back restrictions on users.
Far-right commentators, including well-known YouTuber Tim Pool, also weighed in about changes.
Users who had either had their content moderated or knew people who had encountered Twitter bans or shadow bans also tweeted Musk directly asking to have those lifted and listed the names of people they felt should be brought back to the platform.
When did Elon close his deal for Twitter?
Multiple news outlets reported late Thursday that, after months of legal wrangling and public acrimony, Musk had closed the deal and fired top executives including the company’s CEO Parag Agrawal.
Twitter chairman Bret Taylor removed that title from his Twitter bio.
A deal is done? Elon Musk takes control of Twitter, sources say
Musk may need to pay as much as $200 million to fired executives
Agrawal; Ned Segal, the chief financial officer; and Vijaya Gadde, the top legal and policy executive, all had strict contractual agreements in place for what might happen in the event of a takeover.
MarketWatch reports that the three own about $65 million worth of Twitter stock and get another $119.6 million in stock if they are terminated.
“In total, Gadde is set to walk away from Twitter with the biggest haul: Nearly $74 million. Agrawal and Segal aren’t far behind her, though, at roughly $65 million and $66 million, respectively,” MarketWatch said.
Will Elon Musk fire more Twitter workers?
Twitter’s previous management already planned to slash payroll by about $800 million and make deep cuts to infrastructure including data centers by the end of 2023.
Reports of more austere measures under Musk – including laying off 75% of the company’s 7,500 workers – circulated before the deal closed. Musk told workers at Twitter’s headquarters on Wednesday “that he doesn’t plan to cut 75 percent of the staff when he takes over the company, according to people familiar with the matter,” Bloomberg wrote.
Twitter employees fret ahead of deal deadline:Musk reportedly wants 75% cut to Twitter workforce
What did Elon Musk buy Twitter for?
Musk wound up paying his original bid price: $54.20 a share, or roughly $44 billion.
At the time of his April offer, the amount represented a 33% premium to Twitter’s stock price. But the company has since been caught up in a wider drop in tech stock prices, record-high inflation squeezing investors and increasing fears of a recession.
Musk has been vocal about overpaying about the purchase, although Twitter had closed at $53.70 on Thursday, a marked upswing from its lowest point of $32.65 in July.
“Although obviously myself and other investors are overpaying for Twitter right now,” Musk recently said, “the long-term potential for Twitter is an order of magnitude higher than its current value.”
– Riley Gutiérrez McDermid
More:Elon Musk says Twitter can’t become ‘a free-for-all hellscape,’ should be ‘warm and welcoming’
Why does Elon Musk want Twitter?
The deal gives the Tesla billionaire control of one of the world’s most powerful megaphones.
It also gives Musk access to the data of nearly 400 million users and the ability to bring back people and organizations previously banned or sidelined by Twitter, including former President Donald Trump
Who will run Twitter now?
For now, it appears Musk is helming Twitter.
On Wednesday he changed his Twitter bio to “Chief Twit” shortly before walking into Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters carrying a porcelain sink, resurrecting a meme that has been internet lore for years. “Let that sink in,” he tweeted.
– Jessica Guynn
Twitter deal: Why ‘Chief Twit’ Elon Musk brought along a sink on his visit to Twitter headquarters
Is Donald Trump coming back to Twitter?
Now that Elon Musk is running Twitter, the Tesla billionaire is likely to reverse a permanent ban against Trump for inciting violence during the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
Musk has indicated he would allow Trump back on the social media platform where the former president had more than 88 million followers.
“Would be great to unwind permanent bans, except for spam accounts and those that explicitly advocate violence,” Musk texted Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal in April, according to court filings.
At a conference in May, Musk said: “I do think it was not correct to ban Donald Trump, I think that was a mistake.”
– Jessica Guynn
Will Trump return? Is Donald Trump coming back to Twitter now that Elon Musk bought the company?
Will Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter mean more hate, extremism online?
When Elon Musk first agreed to buy Twitter in April, he said the social media site has the potential to become “the platform for free speech around the globe” and he would unlock it.
Musk, who closed the $44 billion deal on Friday after a months-long legal fight, has described himself as a “free speech absolutist” and expressed concern over the way Twitter moderates its users.
Now that Musk owns Twitter, will he make good on his promise to loosen content moderation rules in the name of “free speech?”
Musk said Thursday he doesn’t want the site to become “a free-for-all hellscape where anything can be said with no consequences” in a message to advertisers, who analysts have said may be scared off by Tesla CEO’s stance on free speech.
Extremists cheer Musk Twitter deal: Oath Keepers trial heats up & more LGBTQ harassment
“In addition to adhering to the laws of the land, our platform must be warm and welcoming to all, where you can choose your desired experience according to your preferences,” Musk said in a note posted on Twitter.
Critics have expressed concern that Musk would allow harmful or extremist speech on the site and experts have warned that loosening content moderation could cause real-world harm.
Conservatives, meanwhile, have celebrated Musk’s Twitter takeover, as many accuse social media platforms of routinely censoring their voices, feelings further fueled earlier this year after former President Donald Trump was permanently banned from Twitter.
Musk has indicated he would let Trump, who was banned for inciting violence during the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, back on the site.
– Amanda Pérez Pintado
Things getting nasty on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram? How to shut down the hate, harassment
How will advertisers respond to a Twitter with less moderation?
Elon Musk, a self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist,” has been advocating for less content moderation on Twitter since his plans to take over the company were first announced in April.
“We want to have the perception and the reality that speech is as free as possible,” Musk said in April at the TED2022 conference. “Is someone you don’t like allowed to say something you don’t like? And if that is the case, then we have free speech.”
The idea seems to harken back to the early days of Twitter; former CEO Dick Costolo called the site the “free-speech wing of the free-speech party” in the early 2010s.
Since then, Twitter has adopted stricter policies to combat disinformation, misinformation and hate speech. The platform’s rules prohibit targeted harassment, COVID-19 misinformation and election manipulation.
A different Twitter Elon Musk says Twitter can’t become ‘a free-for-all hellscape,’ should be ‘warm and welcoming’
Musk’s talk about softening some of Twitter’s rules to any speech has raised red flags for advertisers.
Shortly after the Wall Street Journal released a report about Madison Avenue’s concerns, Musk issued a statement on Twitter saying the social media platform “obviously cannot become a free-for-all-hellscape, where anything can be said with no consequences.”
Musk’s tweet was addressed to advertisers, the company’s primary source of revenue.
“Social networks are trying to do a better job removing hateful content, content that is antisemitic, content that’s blatantly misinformation,” said Ari Lightman, professor of digital media and marketing at Carnegie Mellon University. “That’s something that advertisers worry about.”
– Bailey Schulz
