Elon Musk Purchases Twitter and Fires Top Executives

After closing a $44 Billion deal, the billionaire tweeted that ‘the bird has been freed’ and expelled CEO Parag Agrawal, and CFO Ned Segal among others

Elon Musk fired several Twitter Inc. employees after completing his Takeover of the company. According to people familiar with this matter, it was a unique corporate battle that culminated in the creation of one of the most influential social media platforms for potential broad change.

According to people, Mr. Musk fired Parag Agrawal, Chief Executive Officer, and Ned Segal Chief Financial Officer after the deal was closed. Vijaya Gadde (Twitter’s top legal and policy executive) and Sean Edgett (general counsel), were also fired by Mr. Musk. Twitter spokespersons did not comment.

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After those actions, Mr. Musk sent “the birds are freed”, a reference to Twitter’s blue bird logo. A Friday filing by the Securities and Exchange Commission confirmed that the deal was closed on Thursday and that Twitter is now part of X Holdings I Inc.

In April, Mr. Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion. He then threatened to walk away, but he reversed course and committed to seeing through the acquisition.

It was not immediately clear who would take over the top spots left empty by Thursday’s departures. CNBC reported earlier that Mr. Segal and Mr. Agrawal had left.

This deal will see Twitter become a private company again.

It also expands Mr. Musk’s business reach. He runs Tesla Inc. (the world’s most valuable car company) and Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (or SpaceX), among other ventures. Musk was Twitter’s largest individual shareholder. He previously stated that he would finance the acquisition mainly with cash, some contributions by co-investors and $13 billion in loans.

This week, there were signs that Musk was closer to purchasing the social media platform before Friday’s deadline of 5 p.m. The Wall Street Journal reported that banks started sending money to support the deal. Also, Musk changed his Twitter bio from “Chief Twt” and walked into the San Francisco headquarters of the social media platform. He then issued a statement via Twitter explaining his vision of the site to advertisers.

The deal was closed, ending a long-running saga about whether or not Mr. Musk would buy the company. This acquisition puts one of the most important social-media platforms in the hands of the richest person in the world, which has implications for the future of online discourse.

Musk, a self-described free speech absolutist, has pledged not to allow content moderation and instead promote free speech. This approach could cause conflicts with politicians, advertisers, and users who prefer a moderated platform.

Musk sent a message to Twitter advertisers on Thursday to say that he had purchased the company to create a “common digital town square” where all opinions can be discussed in a healthy way. He also stated that Twitter could not become a “free-for-all hellscape,” where anyone can speak without consequences.