Elon Musk Completes Controversial $44 Billion Twitter Takeover
Elon Musk finalizes his massive $44 billion acquisition of Twitter after a monthslong saga filled with legal battles, executive firings, and sudden reversals. The new owner immediately overhauls the social media platform by cutting staff and revamping policies.
Elon Musk officially completes his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter, purchasing the social media platform at his original offer price of $54.20 per share. The deal marks the end of a monthslong, tumultuous saga that begins in January when Musk starts investing in the company and eventually escalates into a highly publicized legal and corporate battle.
The path to ownership is anything but smooth, as Musk repeatedly shifts his stance on the purchase over the summer. He initially expresses doubts about the deal by raising concerns over the number of spam and bot accounts on the platform, prompting Twitter to firmly deny his claims. Analysts suggest these complaints serve as a convenient pretext for Musk to back out or renegotiate the deal amid a severe downturn in tech stock prices.
Following the late October closure of the deal, Musk acts quickly to reshape the company under his leadership. He fires top executives, lays off approximately half of Twitter's workforce, establishes a new content moderation council to handle account reinstatements, and overhauls the platform's subscription service. These dramatic changes signal a radical new direction for the social media giant as it enters the Musk era.