Elon Musk Completes Tumultuous $44 Billion Twitter Takeover
Elon Musk finalizes his massive $44 billion acquisition of Twitter after a chaotic months-long saga filled with legal battles and sudden reversals. The new owner immediately fires top executives and cuts half of the workforce.
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 saga that begins in January when Musk starts investing in the company. Throughout the process, Musk shifts between the roles of suitor, critic, and legal adversary while boasting 115 million followers on the platform.
The path to ownership remains highly contentious as Musk repeatedly raises concerns about spam accounts and bots on the platform. He temporarily puts the deal on hold in May, prompting analysts to suggest the complaints serve as a pretext to abandon or renegotiate the agreement amid a severe downturn in tech stocks. Twitter pushes back against these claims, insisting it shares all necessary information in accordance with the acquisition terms.
Following the late October closure of the deal, Musk acts quickly to reshape the social media company. He fires top executives, lays off approximately half of Twitter's staff, and establishes a content moderation council to handle account reinstatements. Additionally, Musk revamps the platform's subscription service as he ushers in a new era for the influential social network.