Elon Musk says the “bird is freed” as he starts off his Twitter ownership with firings

• Elon Musk says on Twitter “bird is freed” after $44 billion deal
• Musk fires Twitter CEO, CFO and Policy Chief
• Some Twitter users flag willingness to walk away

SAN FRANCISCO: Elon Musk has assumed control of Twitter Inc. (TWTR.N) with harsh efficiency, sacking key executives while offering little explanation of how he plans to realise his goals for the significant social media network.

After completing his US$44 billion (S$62 billion) acquisition on Thursday, he wrote, “The bird is freed,” making obvious reference to Twitter’s bird logo and his wish for the firm to have fewer restrictions on what can be posted.

However, the CEO of electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla and self-described adamant supporter of free speech has also stated that he wants to stop the platform from turning into an echo chamber for hatred and division. Other objectives include trying to “fight” spam bots on Twitter and opening up the algorithms that decide how material is shown to consumers.

However, Mr. Musk has not provided specifics on how he intends to do all of this or who will lead the company.

He has stated that he intends to make job cuts, which has Twitter’s 7,500 employees worried about the future. On Thursday, he said that he did not purchase Twitter in order to increase his income, but “to try to help humanity, whom I love”.

Less than 10% of respondents to a live poll on the messaging service Blind asked if Twitter employees would still be working for the company in three months. 38% of the 266 participants chose “No,” and more than 55% selected “Popcorn.”

Employees can register for Blind with their work accounts and use it for anonymous messaging to air their complaints.

Sources with knowledge of the situation claim that Mr. Musk removed Twitter’s CEO Parag Agrawal, CFO Ned Segal, and head of law and policy Vijaya Gadde. He had claimed that they had misled him and Twitter’s investors over the prevalence of fraudulent accounts on the site.

The sources also said that Mr. Agrawal and Mr. Segal were removed out of Twitter’s San Francisco offices where they were present when the agreement was finalised.

According to Bloomberg, which cited a source familiar with the situation, Mr. Musk, who also owns the rocket company SpaceX, intends to abolish permanent user bans when Twitter completes the acquisition.

Requests for response from Twitter, Mr. Musk, and the executives were not immediately fulfilled.

Let it sink in, Mr. Musk tweeted after entering Twitter’s offices on Wednesday with a big grin and a porcelain sink. He updated his Twitter bio to read “Chief Twit.”

Additionally, he attempted to allay employee concerns about impending mass layoffs and gave advertisers assurances that his prior criticism of Twitter’s content moderation policies wouldn’t diminish the platform’s appeal.

the bird is freed

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 28, 2022