Musk’s tumultuous Twitter takeover

SINCE the tech billionaire took ownership of Twitter almost three weeks ago, he’s axed half of the company’s more than 7 000 employees, fired most of its executive leadership and demanded that those who remain return to the office immediately — ending remote work, monthly “days of rest” and free food. He’s also told staffers to brace themselves for long hours, that “the road ahead is arduous and will require intense work to succeed,” and said bankruptcy was possible if the company doesn’t stop bleeding cash soon.

With US$1,2 billion of annual interest payments from the acquisition coming due, and possibly going higher with rising interest rates, Musk is in a rush to shore up cash. But with brands pulling back on spending as fears of recession loom, he’s also in a race to find new sources of revenue.

With teams working around the clock to add blue “verification” check marks to the subscription product, impersonator accounts are proliferating, resulting in an exodus of brands that is causing the company to lose US$4 million a day, according to Musk. After being forced to complete the deal to buy Twitter for US$44 billion, Musk announces he has taken possession of the social network. His first act is to fire the board along with Chief Executive Officer Parag Agrawal, Chief Financial Officer Ned Segal, head of legal and policy Vijaya Gadde and General Counsel Sean Edgett, among others in executive leadership.

After changing his Twitter bio to call himself “Chief Twit,” Musk forms a small advisory team that includes celebrity attorney Alex Spiro, venture capitalist and engineer David Sacks, Neuralink Corp CEO and head of Musk’s family office Jared Birchall, tech investor Jason Calacanis, and general partner of Andreessen Horowitz Sriram Krishnan.