Billionaire tech CEO Elon Musk posted his first tweet as the new owner of Twitter on Thursday just before midnight, writing, “the bird is free.” The short tweet was made in reference to Twitter’s logo, which is a blue bird.
Musk closed his $44 billion deal to buy the social media giant on Thursday, marking the end of a months-long court battle related to the purchase. As the new owner of Twitter, Musk tweeted again Friday morning, writing, “let the good times roll.”
In one of his first moves as Twitter’s owner, Musk fired CEO Parag Agrawal and CFO Ned Segal, according to people familiar with the matter, The Washington Post reported. He also reportedly fired Vijaya Gadde, head of legal policy, trust, and safety, and Sean Edgett, Twitter’s general counsel.
Gadde was a key player in the decision to permanently ban former President Donald Trump from the platform in 2021, according to The Washington Post. Musk previously said he not only opposed Trump’s ban, but that he would reinstate Trump’s account once he took over Twitter.
“Permanent bans should be extremely rare and really reserved for accounts that are bots, or scam, spam accounts… I do think it was not correct to ban Donald Trump. I think that was a mistake because it alienated a large part of the country and did not ultimately result in Donald Trump not having a voice,” Musk said during Financial Times’ Future of the Car event earlier this year.
“I would reverse the perma ban,” Musk said, adding that he and Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey share the view that Twitter should not have permanent bans at all.
Banning Trump, “was a morally bad decision, to be clear, and foolish in the extreme,” Musk clarified. “Banning Trump from Twitter didn’t end Trump’s voice. It will amplify it among the right, and this is why it’s morally wrong and flat out stupid.”
Hours before his official takeover of Twitter, Musk wrote in a letter to “Twitter Advertisers” that he bought the platform because he believes it’s “important to the future of civilization.”
“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,” Musk wrote. “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,” he continued.
“That is why I bought Twitter. I didn’t do it because it would be easy. I didn’t do it to make more money. I did it to try to help humanity, whom I love,” he added. “And I do so with humility, recognizing that failure in pursuing this goal, despite our best efforts, is a very real possibility.”
