Elon Musk took control of Twitter and fired its top executives late Thursday in a deal that puts one of the leading platforms for global discourse in the hands of the world's richest man.
Musk sacked chief executive Parag Agrawal, as well as the company's chief financial officer and its head of safety, the Washington Post and CNBC reported citing unnamed sources. Agrawal previously went to court to hold the Tesla chief to the terms of a takeover deal he had tried to escape.
The reports came hours before the court-appointed deadline for Musk to seal his on-again, off-again deal to purchase the social media network.
Musk tweeted earlier in the day that he was buying Twitter "because it is important to the future of civilization to have a common digital town square, where a wide range of beliefs can be debated in a healthy manner."
Twitter did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the departure of its top executives, but the platform's co-founder Biz Stone thanked the trio -- Agrawal, Ned Segal and Vijaya Gadde -- for their "collective contribution to Twitter."
"Massive talents, all, and beautiful humans each."
- 'Chief Twit' -
The closure of the deal marks the culmination of a long and drawn out back-and-forth between the billionaire and the social network.
Musk tried to step back from the Twitter deal soon after his unsolicited offer was accepted in April, and said in July he was canceling the contract because he was misled by Twitter over the number of fake "bot" accounts -- allegations rejected by the company.
Twitter, in turn, sought to prove Musk was contriving excuses to walk away simply because he changed his mind.
After Musk sought to terminate the sale, Twitter filed a lawsuit to hold Musk to the agreement.
With a trial looming, the unpredictable billionaire capitulated and revived his takeover plan.
Musk signaled the deal was on track this week by changing his Twitter profile to "Chief Twit" and posting a video of himself walking into the company's California headquarters carrying a sink.
"Let that sink in!" he quipped.
He even shared a picture of himself socializing at a coffee bar at Twitter headquarters earlier in the day Thursday.
Musk said during a recent Tesla earnings call that he was "excited" about the Twitter deal even though he and investors are "overpaying."
- Twitter free-for-all? -
Some employees who would prefer not to work for Musk have already left, said a worker who asked to remain anonymous in order to speak more freely.
"But a portion of people, including me, are willing to give him the benefit of the doubt for now," the employee said.
The idea of Musk running Twitter has alarmed activists who fear a surge in harassment and misinformation, with Musk himself known for trolling other Twitter users.
But Musk said he realizes Twitter "cannot become a free-for-all hellscape where anything can be said with no consequences."
Musk has vowed to dial content moderation back to a bare minimum, and is expected to clear the way for former US president Donald Trump to return to the platform.
The then-president was blocked due to concerns he would ignite more violence like the deadly attack on the Capitol in Washington to overturn his election loss.
Far-right users were quick to rejoice on the network, posting comments such as "masks don't work" and other taunts, under the belief that moderation rules will now be relaxed.
"Free speech will always prevail," tweeted Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, prompting replies including "says the party that bans books."
Musk and Twitter: Volatile courtship ends in unlikely union -
Elon Musk's pursuit of Twitter was a melodrama from the beginning -- a volatile courtship between a mercurial billionaire and an influential social media platform.
That relationship -- a love-hate affair from both sides -- is at last a sure thing, with Musk taking control of the company Thursday.
Here is a look at his on-off romance with the network:
- The courtship -
It all began with an expensive first date: Musk -- a longtime Twitter user known for inflammatory tweets -- snapped up 73.5 million shares at a cost of nearly $2.9 billion.
The purchase, which was revealed in an April 4 regulatory filing and gave him a 9.2 percent stake in the company, sent Twitter shares soaring and sparked speculation that Musk was seeking an active role in the social media company's operations.
It also earned him a seat on the board. CEO Parag Agrawal announced the offer -- in a tweet, of course -- and called Musk "a passionate believer and intense critic of the service which is exactly what we need."
But the initial attraction didn't last: Musk opted against joining the board, and quickly launched a hostile takeover bid for the company, offering $54.20 a share, an April 13 filing showed.
Twitter in turn adopted a "poison pill" defense that would allow shareholders to buy additional stock.
- The engagement -
Then came the plans for a walk down the corporate aisle: Twitter reversed course and said on April 25 that it was selling to Musk in a deal valued at $44 billion.
Musk parted with $8.4 billion in shares in Tesla, pledged up to $21 billion from his personal fortune and got some friends to stake him a few billion.
- The breakup -
But the billionaire soon began showing signs of cold feet, saying on May 13 that the deal to buy Twitter was "temporarily on hold" pending details on spam and fake accounts on the platform.
After two months of very public fighting over the issue, he called off the deal and accused Twitter of making "misleading" statements.
The company quickly launched legal action to enforce the agreement.
- The reconciliation -
Both sides had been gearing up for a lengthy and hugely expensive showdown at the Delaware Chancery Court.
Musk had been buoyed by whistleblower revelations that portrayed the company as cavalier with its bot counting and lax on security.
Twitter, however, believed the agreement it had with Musk was airtight.
Then, earlier this month, Musk revealed -- on Twitter, of course -- that he had agreed to close the deal at the initially offered price, calling the acquisition an "accelerant" towards creating "X," which he said would be "the everything app".
He offered no further detail.
Litigation was suspended, and the court in Delaware set Friday as the deadline for sealing the deal.
- The marriage -
On Thursday, word finally arrived that the nuptials were complete: Musk had taken control of Twitter and fired its top executives, including chief executive Agrawal.
Earlier in the day Musk said that he hoped to foster "healthy" debate on the platform. A happily ever after in the making? Time will tell.
Musk had already given clues to the impending union, changing his Twitter biography to read "Chief Twit" and visiting the company's California headquarters earlier in the week.
