After taking over as the new owner of Twitter, billionaire Elon Musk claims to have liberated the microblogging and social networking platform.
The deal was eventually completed after a lengthy back-and-forth between the billionaire and the social network.
Musk tweeted a few hours after the transaction was completed, “The bird app is freed.” Twitter is commonly referred to as the bird app due to its logo.
the bird is freed
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 28, 2022
Musk has already fired CEO Parag Agrawal, as well as the company’s CFO and head of safety, according to the Washington Post and CNBC, citing unnamed sources.
In an earlier tweet where he addressed Twitter advertisers explaining why he is acquiring the app, Musk said, “The reason I acquired Twitter is 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, without resorting to violence.”
He added, “There is currently great danger that social media will splinter into far right wing and far left-wing echo chambers that generate more hate and divide our society,
“In the relentless pursuit of clicks, much of traditional media has fueled and catered to those polarized extremes, as they believe that is what brings in the money, but, in doing so, the opportunity for dialogue is lost,” Musk said.
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Musk had attempted to back out of the agreement soon after his unsolicited bid was approved in April, saying in July that he was misled by Twitter about the amount of false “bot” accounts – charges that the company denied.
The microblogging site on its part, sought to demonstrate Musk was making up reasons to walk away merely because he changed his mind.
After Musk attempted to terminate the transaction, Twitter launched a lawsuit to hold Musk to the deal. With a trial on the horizon, the erratic millionaire capitulated and resurrected his takeover plot.