THE world’s richest man Elon Musk completed his £38 billion takeover of Twitter today and immediately launched a purge of the company’s top executives.
After months of uncertainty over the deal, the eccentric entrepreneur appeared to confirm it had finally been agreed, tweeting early this morning: “The bird is freed”.
Reports quickly emerged that Mr Musk, inset, had fired chief executive Parag Agrawal, legal chief Vijaya Gadde, chief financial officer Ned Segal and general counsel Sean Edgett as he bids to seize full control of the social media platform.
He is expected to take the company, which reported annual revenues of more than £4 billion in 2021, private. But the takeover has sparked fears that Mr Musk, a self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist” will now loosen moderation rules and lift the ban on former president Donald Trump as the United States prepares for midterm elections early next month.
Mr Trump was removed from the site, which has more than 230 million users worldwide, following the Capitol Hill riot in January last year.
Trump could be back on Twitter just in time for midterms poll
This story is from the October 28, 2022 edition of Evening Standard.
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This story is from the October 28, 2022 edition of Evening Standard.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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