SAN FRANCISCO — Mr Elon Musk became Twitter's new owner on Thursday , firing top executives he had accused of misleading him and providing little clarity over how he will achieve the lofty ambitions he has outlined for the influential social media platform.
Mr Musk terminated Twitter Chief Executive Parag Agrawal, Chief Financial Officer Ned Segal and legal affairs and policy chief Vijaya Gadde, according to people familiar with the matter. He had accused them of misleading him and Twitter investors over the number of fake accounts on the social media platform.
Mr Musk's offer was real, and over the course of just one weekend later in April, the two sides reached a deal at the price he suggested. This happened without Mr Musk carrying out any due diligence on the company's confidential information, as is customary in an acquisition. By then, shares of social media companies and the broader stock market had plunged on concerns that the Federal Reserve's interest rate hikes, as it seeks to fight inflation, will push the United States economy into recession. Twitter accused Mr Musk of buyer's remorse, arguing he wanted to get out of the deal because he thought he overpaid.
He also tried to calm fears among employees that major layoffs are coming and assured advertisers that his past criticism of Twitter's content moderation rules would not harm its appeal.