Elon Musk dismisses Twitter board, making himself sole director | Business and economics

Tesla CEO becomes sole director of social media giant after finalizing $44 billion acquisition.

Elon Musk has fired Twitter’s board of directors, giving him unlimited control over the social media giant, according to a company filing.

Musk later became the “sole director” of Twitter finalizing its $44 billion takeover of the company last weekaccording to documents filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday.

Tesla’s CEO tweeted later on Monday that the arrangement would be “temporary” without being worked out.

Musk, who also runs spaceflight company SpaceX and neurotechnology startup Neuralink, began his tenure at the company on Thursday by firing executives, including Chief Executive Parag Agrawal and Chief Financial Officer Ned Segal.

Musk also offered to buy back all of Twitter’s outstanding bonds, according to the SEC filing.

Musk, the world’s richest person, completed the purchase of the company through a combination of his own wealth, investment funds and bank loans.

A separate SEC filing showed that Saudi prince Alwaleed bin Talal had become Twitter’s second-largest shareholder.

Chris Murphy, a Democratic senator for Connecticut, said he would ask the Committee on Foreign Investment to examine the national security implications of Saudi Arabia’s investment in the platform.

We should be concerned that the Saudis, who have a clear interest in suppressing political speech and influencing US policy, are now the second largest owner of a major social media platform.

There is a clear national security issue at stake and CFIUS should conduct a review.

– Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) October 31, 2022

Musk’s hiring of the influential social media network has sparked intense debate about the balance between free speech and protecting vulnerable groups from online harm.

Musk, a self-described “free speech absolutist,” has criticized Twitter’s moderation policies and accused the company of being biased toward left-wing views.

Although Musk has yet to detail his exact plans for the platform, it is widely expected to ease moderation rules and cut a significant portion of the company’s workforce.

While acknowledging Twitter may not be a “free-for-all hellscape,” Musk stressed the need for a “common digital city square” where a wide range of opinions can be expressed and debated.

Musk, who has expressed discomfort with Twitter’s reliance on adversity, has also signaled an interest in asking users to pay for the blue mark used to verify prominent accounts and offer different versions of the platform based on to a film classification system.