Twitter

Mr Musk may not have yet fully thought through his vision for Twitter, but if anyone can unlock its "extraordinary potential" it could well be him.

Mr Musk has put himself on the hook for billions, tied to his stock at Tesla. Can he find a business model that gives his social network a sense of direction? Perhaps in the back of his mind he has a plan to do this. Perhaps he could turn Twitter into a subscription service. Safe, but for one thing - this is Elon Musk we're talking about. Or are they supposed to welcome this proud demonstration of free speech, now that someone just as famous as them is in charge? That's like buying a bank, vowing to eliminate bank robbers, then publishing the floor plans of your vault.

On Twitter, in private messages and in interviews with The Washington Post, employees expressed fear about Musk's $44 billion takeover. Twitter CEO Parag ...

Once the company goes private, employees’ shares would be paid out to them in cash. In the town hall, Twitter executives and board chair Taylor acknowledged emotions were running high for people. The acquisition, which would rank among the largest-ever activist takeovers of a publicly traded company, would take the company private over the course of three to six months, executives said in the town hall. He has also been known as a harsh manager who will seek to fire people on the spot when they are not onboard with his way of thinking, including at one point disbanding his entire public relations team. Twitter was the first company to take action against former president Donald Trump for his tweets supporting Capitol rioters on Jan. 6, 2021, and engineering teams have spent years building tools to fight spam, disinformation and hate speech under an initiative known as healthy conversations. Some tweeted tear-filled emoji and memes of people having emotional breakdowns, while others told The Post they were too in shock to speak.

Although the agreement isn't the final step, the announcement means the Tesla founder is in the end game of acquiring the social media platform.

There are plenty in the tech industry who are agog at the money he has splashed out on a business that is yet to really show its true money-making worth. Dismiss the world’s man at your peril though. The boss of Tesla and SpaceX has a love-hate relationship with the social media platform, revelling in its opportunities for provocation and mischief-making but frustrated by what he sees as restrictive rules. Mr Musk added: "Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated. "Twitter has tremendous potential - I look forward to working with the company and the community of users to unlock it." Twitter has reached an agreement for billionaire Elon Musk to buy the social media platform in a $44bn (£34.6bn) deal.

Billionaire's buyout of social media company reignites debate about leaving the platform but is it too soon to act – and where could you go?

The easiest way to do that is through the “Settings and privacy” tab in the menu of the Twitter app. It really comes down to why you used Twitter in the first place. It’s partially why Musk might have been motivated to buy Twitter rather than starting his own social media site, like others, including Trump, have attempted. If you’ve stuck with what many people call “the hell site” for this long, it’s questionable whether Musk taking it over will be some sort of final straw. The Guardian asked Twitter what data was retained once a user permanently deletes their account. Musk has suggested he is a “free speech absolutist”.

Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news, including the latest on Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter.

The tweet said China may now have a way of holding leverage over However despite speculation, Fox News is reporting that Donald Trump will not be returning to Twitter as he is using his own Truth Social platform instead. There is the possibility that its headquarters could be moved to Austin, headcount could face cuts and there is likely to be a ideological shift in terms of the company’s focus away from content moderation and towards free speech instead. Then there is the cultural chasm between working at Tesla and Twitter. Will Musk’s new employees buy into the plans? Musk is flaunting his influence. Musk is flaunting his power. Away from grand ideas about promoting free speech, what Musk actually sees is a special situation here, in much the same way as any other value-minded investor. “The social media platform is currently trading at $51.92 despite the board agreeing to sell the company for $54.20 per share. “Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated.” Musk’s deal Tweet is that “Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated”. An unmoderated platform could foster a toxic environment and see users leave in droves.” Twitter’s shares had already rallied since Musk revealed his 9% stake in the company three weeks ago.