Published , by Ozzie Mejia
Published , by Ozzie Mejia
As threatened, Tesla founder Elon Musk has completed his purchase of Twitter and begun his takeover of the social media company. Musk has wasted no time in removing some of the folks he has deemed undesirable, as a Reuters report has stated that former Twitter Chief Executive Parag Agrawal, Chief Financial Officer Ned Segal and legal affairs and policy chief Vijaya Gadde were among those immediately fired.
Reuters has been updating its story throughout the day, but the latest version has indicated that Agrawal and Segal were both immediately terminated and escorted from the premises by security. Gadde's name was later added to the list, which has raised a lot of eyebrows, since she ultimately made the decision to permanently ban Donald Trump from the platform following the January 6 insurrection. Musk had previously indicated his desire to reinstate the former president, though Trump himself has indicated that he would not rejoin Twitter even if his ban was overturned.
These firings will have consequences for the new Twitter owner. As noted by CNBC reporter Alex Sherman, Agrawal is owed $60 million USD in the event of his firing. Segal is set to receive $46 million, while the referenced SEC filing adds that Gadde is expected to receive around $40 million. In total, that's close to another $150 million that Musk can add to his $44 billion bill for his new social media network.
Musk penned an open letter to advertisers indicating that he will not allow Twitter to become a "free-for-all hellscape" in hopes of instilling confidence. However, these hasty actions may have the opposite effect. If Twitter devolves into the social network dystopia that many fear it will, advertisers will likely shy away from it. What ultimately happens remains to be seen.
We're cursed to live in interesting times, so we'll keep watching this story as it develops. For more on the saga of Elon Musk and Twitter, keep it here on Shacknews.