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Elon Musk finalizes deal to buy Twitter, starts firing top execs

After months of legal wrangling, American billionaire Elon Musk has completed a $44 billion deal to buy the social network Twiiter. After taking control of the company, the SpaceX founder fired several top Twitter executives, including CEO Parag Agrawal. This is reported by Reuters.

After the purchase, Elon Musk wrote in his social network that “the bird is free.”

The deal reportedly closed on October 27 after a chaotic saga that began after the billionaire announced his purchase of the company in April.

Dismissal of top managers
Shortly after Musk took over Twitter, he fired several of the company’s top executives:

CEO Parag Agrawal;
Chief Financial Officer Ned Segal;
Vijay Gadde, Head of Legal Policy, Trust and Security.
According to reporters, Agrawal and Segal were at Twitter headquarters in San Francisco when the deal closed. After that they were escorted out. However, neither Twitter nor Musk have confirmed the layoffs.

Elon Musk’s plans for the company
Musk is expected to speak directly to Twitter employees on October 28. Despite the internal confusion and low morale associated with fear of layoffs or the dismantling of the company’s culture and operations, Twitter leaders this week welcomed Musk’s arrival.

“The reason I purchased Twitter is because it’s important for the future of civilization to have a shared digital city square where a wide range of beliefs can be discussed in a healthy manner without resorting to violence,” he tweeted.

He also tried to assuage employee fears of upcoming major layoffs, while also reassuring advertisers that his earlier criticism of Twitter’s content moderation rules would not hurt its appeal.

Musk indicated that he sees the platform as the basis for creating a “super app” that offers everything from money transfers to shopping and ordering a taxi.

How did the billionaire buy Twitter?
Rumors that Elon Musk decided to buy the social network for $44 billion appeared at the end of April. Then the company’s shareholders should have received $54.20 per share. However, Musk later said that he intends to terminate the deal, since he allegedly did not receive accurate data about fake Twitter accounts from the company’s board of directors.

Twitter then sued Musk in Delaware, where the company is registered. Representatives of the social network demanded that he complete the purchase. After Musk’s unexpected change of heart as the trial date approached, a Delaware judge gave both parties until October 28 to close the deal. Throughout the time, Musk has regularly clashed with Twitter dignitaries, including Agrawal and Gadde.

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