Elon Musk, a multi-billionaire became the owner of Twitter after completing the $44 billion deal, marking a new era for one of the world’s most influential social media platforms.
As one of his first moves, he reportedly fired a number of top executives, including the boss, Parag Agrawal, CFO Ned Segal, and head of legal policy Vijaya Gadde, multiple United States-based media groups reported on Thursday, citing people aware of the issue.
Musk tweeted “the bird is freed” in an apparent reference to the deal closing.
Twitter’s general counsel, Sean Edgett, was also fired, according to the Washington Post report which cited an unnamed source.
However, both Musk and Twitter haven’t yet confirmed the firings.
Timeline of Musk’s Twitter takeover
The road of Musk’s Twitter takeover has been a rocky one, comprising of the following events:
- Musk first floated the idea of owning Twitter in early April, buying 9.2% of the company for $3 billion.
- In less than ten days, the Tesla CEO revealed his declaration to buy Twitter for $44 billion
- Twitter accepted, but Musk soon got apprehensive and tried his best to pull out of the deal, landing the parties in the Delaware Court of Chancery
- After facing some embarrassing pre-trial discovery and enduring a swiftly approaching date for his deposition, Musk announced that he would follow through after all.
- As trials between Musk and Twitter ramped up, annoyed Delaware Chancery Court Judge Kathaleen McCormick reprimanded she wasn’t here to humor Musk’s unpredictable shenanigans.
- In early October Musk again announced that he would buy Twitter if he could kill the upcoming trial, with which Judge McCormick agreed only if Musk could close the deal by Friday, October 28.
If he had missed the deadline, Twitter users would have been looking at a fresh Musk/Twitter trial date set for November.
While the completion of the deal brought an end to months of legal wrangling, it has also prompted questions regarding the company’s future direction, especially after Musk fired top officials on the first day of deal closure.