Elon Musk has named himself CEO at Twitter as he reportedly preps major changes at the social media site — including the lifting of lifetime user bans.
Musk– who completed his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter late Thursday after a bruising legal battle that grabbed headlines for six months — plans to remain CEO in the interim though he is likely to eventually step aside and hire a full-time replacement.
Musk made a dramatic entrance to Twitter headquarters in San Francisco on Wednesday. He posted video on Twitter showing him carrying a sink, a play on the popular internet meme “Let that sink in.”
The new boss is also planning to do away with the old regime’s policy of imposing lifetime bans on provocateurs and others who have run afoul of Twitter’s content moderation policies.
Musk vowed that he would reinstate former President Donald Trump’s Twitter account, which was suspended permanently after the rioting at the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
It’s unclear whether Trump would be allowed back on Twitter in the near term.
In one of his first moves as CEO, Musk fired previous CEO Parag Agrawal, who will receive a payout of $38.7 million due to his shares vesting upon his termination.
Musk also canned the chief financial officer, Ned Segal, who walks away with a $25.4 million golden parachute.
Vijaya Gadde, the chief legal officer, and Sarah Personette, the chief customer officer, were also let go. Gadde will depart with $12.5 million while Personette will receive an $11.2 million payout.
Observers will be closely watching whether Musk follows through on his pledge to make Twitter a platform that allows for more free speech.
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