Elon Musk owns Twitter, good morning. Let’s catch you up on the whirlwind that was the new “Chief Twitascent “‘s because we all knew it was going to happen (except for the bit when Elon fought it tooth and claw).
1. Elon uses plumbing to create a visual joke.
Elon Musk visited Twitter’s headquarters on what we now know was the eve of the official deal close, setting the tone for the rest of the week. By carrying a sink and asking Twitter to physically let him and that sink in, he took the opportunity to make an admittedly kind of amusing visual pun about the phrase “let that sink in.”
Although you probably can’t picture any other executives, like, say, Tim Cook, bringing enormous porcelain artefacts into office lobbies to announce an acquisition closing, Musk’s penchant for whimsical anarchic energy makes this conduct anticipated.
2. Elon tries to placate sponsors.
Following news that some advertisers might stop using Twitter if Elon lifts Donald Trump’s indefinite ban, the Muskie posts a lengthy letter to them in which he attempts to defend his actions (the line “I did it to try to help humanity, whom I love” is exquisite) and promises they won’t “become a free-for-all hellscape” under his rule.
3. Elon completes the sale.
Elon Musk owns Twitter Contrary to expectations, Elon announces the deal completion at 6:20 PM PT on Thursday instead of at the predicted time of 4:20 PM PT. Instead, the news first spreads slowly before suddenly becoming widely reported across all major media channels.
That indicates that he met the deadline, which was today, October 28, as specified by Delaware Chancery Court Judge Kathaleen McCormick. The deadline was established as a result of the court battle that followed Elon’s unsuccessful attempt to back out of the agreement. Elon floated a number of defenses in an effort to escape his $44 billion commitment.
4. Elon dismisses management
After being given the keys, Musk didn’t waste any time in cleaning house. He sacked the head of legal, trust, and safety, Vijaya Gadde, as well as the CEO, Parag Agrawal, the CFO, and general counsel Sean Edgett.
There was obviously no rekindling of their romance. Additionally, he had previously come under fire for expressing criticism of Gadde, which effectively made him target her for his adoring troll army. Additionally, I guess that the deal closing helped him avoid some lawsuit that was not very pleasant for the Twitter top legal staff.
5. CEO Elon will crown himself in
Early on in this process, reports suggested Elon would attempt to position himself as Twitter’s next CEO by adding a third (or fourth? who knows) CEO title to his existing LinkedIn page. That appears to be the case as recent reports state that he will consolidate his position of power.
It does appear that he will be filling the position in the meantime while he decides who should have it permanently. Maybe one of his friends who was hanging out with him in the message history that was made public during the Twitter litigation’s discovery process will get the job done.
6. The NYSE announces the delisting of Twitter.
The New York Stock Exchange will officially delist Twitter on November 8. That will formally mark the end of its time as a publicly traded business, which started with its IPO in November 2013.
Through his finance entity X Holdings I, Inc., which is now the sole owner of the entire firm, Musk is taking it private.
7. EU welcomes Elon to the land of regulations
The message simply stating “the bird is liberated” was Elon’s first formal confirmation of his new toy on Twitter following the completion of the deal. Thierry Breton, the Internet Market Commissioner for the European Commission, soon countered with a reminder that freedom isn’t free.
Notably, Breton has already had face-to-face meetings with Musk and has even filmed a video in which he claims to have discussed the EU’s Digital Services Act to Musk, in which Musk essentially declares his alignment with all of its provisions.
8. Elon converses with a couple of trolls
Elon Musk owns Twitter hasn’t tweeted much since the takeover, but he has responded to a few users who have previously complained about platform censorship. One of them is “catturd2,” a user who tweets falsehoods about COVID and claims to have been shadow banned. The other is Canada Proud, a right-wing propagandist organisation that concentrates on criticizing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau while also disseminating false information about COVID.
9. Elon claims that a content council will exist, but it won’t be the one that now exists.
Installing a content moderation board, like to Facebook’s Oversight Board, to help settle issues like who gets banned on the network and for what seems to be one of Musk’s first major leadership decisions.
Although Twitter already has a trust and safety council that serves as an advisory body, this would serve as a sort of “Supreme Court” for decisions regarding who gets to tweet what and when in cases of controversy. Twitter already has a trust and safety council, but it’s a large group that seems to act more informally to inform product decisions.
The narrative has just just begun, but there will be many more, so stay tuned. As more happens throughout the day and into the night, we’ll update this post.
