Elon Musk has taken charge of Twitter following the apparent completion of his $44 billion deal with the company on Thursday—and promptly fired CEO Parag Agrawal as well as CFO Ned Segal and chief legal counsel Vijaya Gadde.
The billionaire announced the news by tweeting, “The bird is freed.”
The platform he’s acquired is, of course, hurling out opinions left, right, and center about his takeover—with some making light of the situation, and others lamenting the ushering in of a potentially chaotic era on the social media site.
Amid the initial trickle of realization that Musk’s ownership was a reality, several Twitter users discussed whether they would stay or leave the site. One viral tweet suggested a migration to LinkedIn, while Jimmy Wales, cofounder of Wikipedia, encouraged users to switch to WikiTribune Social, which markets itself as “the nontoxic social network.”
Great – head of trust and safety gone. It's time to switch! https://t.co/I8xfkDVLJz please sign up and come talk to me. https://t.co/T7CVxBXQC1
— Jimmy Wales (@jimmy_wales) October 28, 2022
Great – head of trust and safety gone. It's time to switch! https://t.co/I8xfkDVLJz please sign up and come talk to me. https://t.co/T7CVxBXQC1
Others launched into making witty jokes about what a Twitter under the Tesla founder might look like.
Welcome to 𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗧𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗥
— Ben Rosen (@ben_rosen) October 28, 2022
When you receive 𝟰𝟮𝟬 𝗟𝗜𝗞𝗘𝗦 you will earn 𝟭 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗞 𝗕𝗨𝗖𝗞. When you earn 𝟲𝟵 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗞 𝗕𝗨𝗖𝗞𝗦 you can say 𝗔 𝗦𝗟𝗨𝗥
Welcome to 𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗧𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗥
When you receive 𝟰𝟮𝟬 𝗟𝗜𝗞𝗘𝗦 you will earn 𝟭 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗞 𝗕𝗨𝗖𝗞. When you earn 𝟲𝟵 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗞 𝗕𝗨𝗖𝗞𝗦 you can say 𝗔 𝗦𝗟𝗨𝗥
BREAKING 🚨: Twitter reportedly hiring Iver Mectin to tackle Covid-19 misinformation across the platform.
— Craig Spencer MD MPH (@Craig_A_Spencer) October 28, 2022
BREAKING 🚨: Twitter reportedly hiring Iver Mectin to tackle Covid-19 misinformation across the platform.
I expect Twitter to remain mostly the same under Elon except it’ll somehow get massive federal subsidies and occasionally burst into flames
— Ken Klippenstein (@kenklippenstein) October 26, 2022
I expect Twitter to remain mostly the same under Elon except it’ll somehow get massive federal subsidies and occasionally burst into flames
Elon Musk owning twitter means there's an above zero chance one day he shuts the whole thing down because someone dunked on him too hard, and we can all aspire to be the person that ends the misery
— David Milner (@DaveMilbo) October 28, 2022
Elon Musk owning twitter means there's an above zero chance one day he shuts the whole thing down because someone dunked on him too hard, and we can all aspire to be the person that ends the misery
Jokes aside, some users mulled over the repercussions of another billionaire taking ownership of a powerful sphere of influence, comparing it to today’s big tech companies and historical attempts to use such platforms to drive political narratives.
The amount of brainwashing needed to think the richest guy on earth owning Twitter, the second richest guy owning the Washington post, and the fifth richest guy owning Facebook and Instagram could possibly be a good thing is immense.
— Read Let This Radicalize You (@JoshuaPHilll) October 28, 2022
The amount of brainwashing needed to think the richest guy on earth owning Twitter, the second richest guy owning the Washington post, and the fifth richest guy owning Facebook and Instagram could possibly be a good thing is immense.
Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover is best understood in the context of decades-old efforts by right-wing business interests to capture the institutions that shape public opinion.
— Walker Bragman moved to Threads and BlueSky (@WalkerBragman) October 28, 2022
In the past those were academia, churches, media, and the courts. Today, the list includes social media.
Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover is best understood in the context of decades-old efforts by right-wing business interests to capture the institutions that shape public opinion.
In the past those were academia, churches, media, and the courts. Today, the list includes social media.
Regarding the future of social media, the founder of investigative journalism group Bellingcat, Eliot Higgins, said that Musk’s takeover and intent to push for free speech could in fact do the opposite overall.
A lack of self-regulation on Twitter will just increase the likelihood of government regulation of all social media, it's as simple as that.
— Eliot Higgins (@EliotHiggins) October 28, 2022
A lack of self-regulation on Twitter will just increase the likelihood of government regulation of all social media, it's as simple as that.
Others focused on the usability of Twitter itself as a platform, saying that it could descend into chaos and become particularly toxic, or that users who wanted to stay would have to figure out a way to meticulously curate their timelines.
No idea what the future holds for this site, BUT: I can say that from my very narrow perch, blocking, muting, unfollowing, limiting whose replies you see, all those tools are basically essential to making it a pleasant place and you should use them ruthlessly!
— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) October 28, 2022
No idea what the future holds for this site, BUT: I can say that from my very narrow perch, blocking, muting, unfollowing, limiting whose replies you see, all those tools are basically essential to making it a pleasant place and you should use them ruthlessly!
Across the Atlantic however, European commissioner Thierry Breton implied the impact of the acquisition would not be felt so much on the continent.
👋 @elonmusk
— Thierry Breton (@ThierryBreton) October 28, 2022
In Europe, the bird will fly by our 🇪🇺 rules.#DSA https://t.co/95W3qzYsal
👋 @elonmusk
In Europe, the bird will fly by our 🇪🇺 rules.#DSA https://t.co/95W3qzYsal
Right-wing politicians were largely positive about the news, including Texas congressman Dan Crenshaw and California congressman Darrell Issa.
RT if you’re going to start using Twitter more now that @elonmusk just took over, walked into HQ like a boss, and fired the CEO.
— Dan Crenshaw (@DanCrenshawTX) October 28, 2022
RT if you’re going to start using Twitter more now that @elonmusk just took over, walked into HQ like a boss, and fired the CEO.
Twitter was originally envisioned as a digital public square — free and open to all. I hope @elonmusk will make that vision a reality.
— Darrell Issa (@DarrellIssa) October 27, 2022
Twitter was originally envisioned as a digital public square — free and open to all. I hope @elonmusk will make that vision a reality.
And naturally, plenty theorized about the return of former President Donald Trump after he was banned from the platform for life.
I know this is just to state the obvious, but Musk could now radically alter the American political landscape, and make chaos and turmoil rain down, just by lifting his little finger and letting Trump return to Twitter.
— Harry Litman (@harrylitman) October 28, 2022
I know this is just to state the obvious, but Musk could now radically alter the American political landscape, and make chaos and turmoil rain down, just by lifting his little finger and letting Trump return to Twitter.
Elon Musk adding Donald Trump, Katie Hopkins and Tommy Robinson back onto Twitter… pic.twitter.com/dYbTxDaCfD
— Michael Morgan (@mikecmorgan) October 28, 2022
Elon Musk adding Donald Trump, Katie Hopkins and Tommy Robinson back onto Twitter… pic.twitter.com/dYbTxDaCfD
A Delaware judge set Friday as the official deadline to finalize the deal.
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