Here are highlights from what is going on at Twitter after Elon Musk's acquisition. (Image Source: Reuters)Elon Musk Twitter Highlights: Twitter is now officially owned by Elon Musk, the world’s richest man. As expected the acquisition has begun with full drama, with Musk sacking the CEO Parag Agrawal, Vijaya Gadde who was the chief of policy, legal, trust and safety as well as CFO Ned Segal. In the latest updates, Musk has announced that the verification process as it exists right now is set to change, and users might soon have to pay to get that coveted ‘Blue tick’. Musk has also been interacting with others on the platform about other possible changes. He has also denied reports that he intends to fire people before November 1, so he does not have to pay the stock options.
Musk has also started listing his plans for Twitter, though he insists that he is not changing any of the moderation policies for now. Musk and his team of engineers at Tesla also reportedly asked the engineering team at Twitter to print out all code that they had worked on for the last 30 to 60 days.
Read more: Elon Musk completes $44 billion deal to own Twitter. Finally
According to reports, the Tesla boss has internally taken on the role of CEO at Twitter, though his Twitter profile currently mentions him as ‘Chief Twit’. He also plans to do away with ‘life bans’ on the platform, though publicly he has said no decision has been taken for now. With Musk’s takeover of Twitter, the threat of mass layoffs also looms large at the company, with reports predicting that 50 per cent of employees could be sacked.
Check out highlights from the Musk-Twitter scenario below:
Elon Musk has assured the European Commission that Twitter will continue to abide by tough European rules on illegal online content, according to Reuters report. The self-described free speech absolutist told Thierry Breton, the European Union’s industry chief, that he planned to have Twitter comply with the EU’s Digital Services Act.
Once Musk took over Twitter, it was expected that he would fire CEO Parag Agrawal, which he did. But who is the new CEO of the comapny. Some reports have indicated that Musk has named himself as the Twitter CEO, at least internally. But publicily Musk has not taken on the title so far. He responded to a post from a user asking Musk for how long he intends to stay on as Twitter CEO.
Musk just posted a poll to his 110 million Twitter followers. Is it time to bring back Vine? For those who don't know, Vine was the short video platform that Twitter acquired and actually quite popular before TikTok and Reels and whatever else took over. Vine was a mobile video app where people would share short video clips that played in a loop, but Twitter had shut it down in 2016 after it could not find a buyer for the platform. It launched in 2013. Check out Musk's tweet below:
Remember, Musk is not the only person who owns Twitter. There is investment from other firms as well. Sriram Krishnan from the VC firm a16z is also 'helping' out with Twitter. He wrote on his feed, "Now that the word is out: I’m helping out @elonmusk with Twitter temporarily with some other great people. I ( and a16z) believe this is a hugely important company and can have great impact on the world and Elon is the person to make it happen."
A New York Times report has stated that Elon Musk intends to fire many employees at Twitter before November 1, in order to avoid paying year-end compensation and stock options. Musk replied to that tweet saying it was false. It should be noted that Musk has not yet confirmed how many people will eventually get laid off from the social media company.
Musk is changing how Twitter verifies users on the platform. He tweeted in reply to another user, "The whole verification process is being revamped right now." According to the Platformer, Twitter is considering charging for the coveted blue check mark verifying the identity of its account holder. Right now, Twitter has a paid subscription called Twitter Blue, which is not yet available in India. Going forward, Twitter Blue will cost $4.99 a month and ensure that a user gets to keep their 'verified' badge. This is not yet officially confirmed by the company for now. Another report on by The Verge claims, Twitter might charge $19.99 for Twitter Blue, which would make it a very pricey subscription indeed. Again all of this is speculation at the moment.
Reuters reports that Dogecoin’s value has surged by more than 70 per cent after Elon Musk completed the Twitter takeover. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO has been a big proponent of cryptocurrencies and has heavily influenced the price of dogecoin and bitcoin in the past.
Tesla began accepting dogecoin as payment for company merchandise earlier this year and Elon Musk’s new perfume brand also accepts the “meme coin.” Interestingly, cryptocurrency exchange Binance has invested over $500 million in Musk’s Twitter acquisition.
According to Twitter’s head of safety and integrity Yoel Roth, the platform has been flooded by a large number of tweets containing slurs and other derogatory terms after Elon Musk’s takeover. Musk had earlier clarified that he has not yet made any changes to Twitter’s content moderation platforms. Roth adds that a majority of accounts engaging in this kind of behaviour are “inauthentic.”
NYT reports that Musk will likely not pay the “golden parachutes” that fired top executives, including Parag Agrawal, were set to receive. Agrawal was set to receive benefits worth around $60 million after he was unceremoniously fired from the company. But according to reports, Musk terminated the company’s agreements with the executives “for cause,” meaning there was a justification for the action. This means that the agreement might be voided.
The New York Times reports that Elon Musk has already ordered job cuts across Twitter. Musk, who also owns Tesla and SpaceX has told investors that he would take the social media company private, cut down on its workforce, roll back content moderation, and find new revenue streams.
The layoffs will reportedly happen before Tuesday, when employees were scheduled to get stock grants that are part of their compensation. NYT reports that Musk is unlikely to pay the golden parachutes that some of the fired top executives are supposed to receive.
As Twitter employees continue to stay in the dark regarding reports of mass lay-offs and job cuts, reports suggest employees were instructed to print the code they contributed to the platform in the moddle of a “code freeze”.
As per a report by New York Times, "amid layoff fears, some Twitter employees were instructed to print out copies of the code they had written recently as possible proof of work, said two people with knowledge of the situation. Three employees said they were not getting any communication from the company and were reliant on news reports. Twitter also implemented a “code freeze” to prevent changes to the app, two people said."
"Twitter will be forming a content moderation council with widely diverse viewpoints. No major content decisions or account reinstatements will happen before that council convenes," Musk said in a new tweet.
'Chief Twit' went on to add that no content moderation changes have been brought into effect yet. However, changes to how Twitter handles takedowns and bans are expected to come into play soon.
Elon Musk plans to assume the role of chief executive officer at Twitter Inc. after completing his $44 billion acquisition, taking the helm of the social media giant, as per a report by Bloomberg.
Three of Twitter’s top executives reportedly fired after Elon Musk completed his takeover are set to collect over $100 million in severance and payouts of previously granted equity awards. Ex-Chief Executive Officer Parag Agrawal is eligible to receive roughly $50 million. Click on the image to read more.
Parag Agrawal was appointed Twitter CEO back in November 2021. But in just under a year, Twitter's new owner Elon Musk has fired the India-born CEO. A look at Agrawal's short stint as Twitter's boss. Click the image below for more.
One of Musk's first actions as the new effective owner of Twitter was to fire key executives including recently appointed CEO Parag Agrawal as well as content policy chief Vijaya Gadde.
Musk also took to his personal Twitter handle to announce that "the bird is freed", also changing his Twitter account description to 'Chief Twit'.
Elon Musk compoleted his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter earlier this week. The SpaceX, Tesla founder had previously shared his views on making the platform a free-speech supporting one and to get there, changes include job cuts, new leadership roles as well as changes to how Twitter deals with advertisers.
Musk has also been adding a comic touch to the turn of events, walking in the Twitter office quite literally with a kitchen sink in his hands. Check outmore detailsby clicking on the picture below.