Good morning, Elon<\/span> Musk owns Twitter. We knew it was going to happen (except for the part where Elon fought it tooth and nail), but it\u2019s real now, so let\u2019s catch you up on the whirlwind that was the new \u201cChief Twit\u2019s\u201d ascension.<\/p>\n The week\u2019s festivities kicked off with Elon Musk paying a visit to Twitter HQ, on what we now know was the eve of the official deal close. He used the occasion to make an admittedly kinda funny visual pun about the phrase \u201clet that sink in,\u201d by carrying a sink and literally having Twitter let him and that sink in.<\/p>\n Whimsical chaotic energy is definitely Musk\u2019s strong suit, so this is expected behavior, even if you can\u2019t imagine any other execs \u2014 like, say, Tim Cook, for example \u2014 carrying large porcelain objects into office lobbies to announce an acquisition close.<\/p>\n Elon Musk carries a sink into Twitter HQ. Image Credits:<\/strong> Elon Musk \/ Twitter<\/p>\n<\/div>\n On the heels of a report that some advertisers might boycott Twitter should Elon lift Donald Trump\u2019s permanent ban, the Muskie posts an extended missive to advertisers trying to explain his logic (\u201cI did it to try to help humanity, whom I love\u201d is exquisite) and ends by assuring them it won\u2019t \u201cbecome a free-for-all hellscape\u201d under his rule.<\/p>\n Bucking the odds-makers, Elon does not reveal the deal close at 4:20 PM PT, but instead the news first trickles out then hits like a wave with near-simultaneous reports across all major outlets on Thursday at around 6 PM PT.<\/p>\n That means he beat the deadline set upon him by Delaware Chancery Court Judge Kathaleen McCormick, which was today, October 28. The deadline resulted from the court case that resulted from Elon trying to wriggle out of the deal \u2014 in which he floated multiple defenses as an attempt to get out of his $44 billion commitment.<\/p>\n Image Credits:<\/strong> Jim Watson\/AFP\/Getty Images (collage by ) \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Musk wasted no time clearing house when he got in: He fired CEO Parag Agrawal, CFO Ned Segal, General Counsel Sean Edgett and Head of Legal, Trust and Safety Vijaya Gadde basically at the same time he was officially handed the keys.<\/p>\n Clearly, there was no love lost between Musk and Agrawal. And he\u2019d previously been criticized for posting criticism of Gadde that essentially got her targeted by his sycophantic troll army. Plus, for the Twitter top legal brass, I bet he wasn\u2019t feeling too great about that bit of litigation the deal closing helped him escape.<\/p>\n Reports early in this process indicated Elon might want to set himself up as Twitter\u2019s next chief executive \u2014 adding a third (fourth? who knows) CEO title to his current LinkedIn profile. That seems to be the case, as reports just following the deal say he\u2019ll put himself in the power spot.<\/p>\n It does look like he\u2019s going to be doing that as a temporary measure until he figures out who should occupy the seat long-term. Maybe one of the cronies who were cozying up to him in the message history revealed during the Twitter litigation\u2019s discovery process will get the nod.<\/p>\n Musk is taking it private via his financing vehicle X Holdings I, Inc. which is now sole owner of the company in its entirety.<\/p>\n Elon\u2019s first official acknowledgement on Twitter of his new toy post-deal close was a tweet reading simply \u201cthe bird is freed.\u201d This was quickly rejoined by European Commission Internet Market Commissioner Thierry Breton, who responded with a reminder that freedom isn\u2019t free<\/a>.<\/p>\n Notably, Breton has previously met with Musk in person and even recorded a video<\/a> in which he says that he explained to Musk the EU\u2019s Digital Services Act, and in which Musk basically says he\u2019s aligned to everything it contains.<\/p>\n Musk hasn\u2019t said all that much since the takeover on Twitter, but he has replied to a couple of users who have complained about platform censorship in the past. One is a user called \u201ccatturd2\u201d who claims he\u2019s shadowbanned<\/a> and who tweets COVID misinformation among other things. The other is Canada Proud<\/a>, a right-wing propagandist group that also spreads COVID misinfo and focuses on attacking Canadian PM Justin Trudeau.<\/p>\n One of Musk\u2019s first big leadership decisions appears to be to install a content moderation council that will help decide matters like who gets banned on the platform and for what \u2014 similar to Facebook\u2019s Oversight Board.<\/p>\n Twitter does already have a trust and safety council that acts in an advisory capacity, but that\u2019s a large group that seems to act more behind the scenes to inform product decisions, whereas this would be a \u2018Supreme Court\u2019 of sorts for decisions on who gets to tweet and what in cases of controversy.<\/p>\n That\u2019s the story so far, but there\u2019s going to be plenty more, so stay tuned. We\u2019ll update this post as more develops throughout the day and beyond.<\/p>\n![\"Elon](\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/gp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/1667018487_327_elon-musk-buys-twitter-GettyImages-1238367009.jpg\")
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It\u2019s official: Twitter will delist from the New York Stock Exchange on November 8. That will officially end its tenure as a public company, which began with its IPO in November 2013.<\/p>\n8. Elon discourses with some trolls<\/h2>\n
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