Elon Musk clears out Twitter bosses in $44bn deal

The world’s richest man, Elon Musk, has completed his $44bn (£38.1bn) takeover of the social media firm, according to a government filing.

Mr Musk tweeted “the bird is freed” and later said “let the good times roll”.

The deal has prompted the departure of Twitter’s finance chief Ned Segal as well as its chairman Bret Taylor.

The firm’s chief executive Parag Agrawal has also reportedly left and was escorted out of Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters.

Mr Segal confirmed his departure on the social media platform. He tweeted that his time at the company was the “most fulfilling of my career” and reflected on the strain caused by the uncertainty of the last six months.

The completion of the deal brings to an end months of legal wrangling between Twitter and Mr Musk.

“You learn so much when times are challenging and unpredictable, when we are tired or feel our integrity questioned,” Mr Segal said on Friday, alluding to Mr Musk’s public criticism of the company’s leadership.

“I have great hope for Twitter,” he added.

The deal was confirmed through a filing with the US government on Friday.

Mr Musk tried to withdraw his offer over the summer citing inaccurate user data, but Twitter executives took legal action to force him to stand by his bumper offer for the social media platform.

The drawn-out battle has divided Twitter’s own users, some of whom are worried Mr Musk will loosen regulations governing hate speech and misinformation, and some of whom feel the previous management curtailed free speech with overly rigorous rules.

Mr Musk has said he sees the platform as a forum for “free speech” – while also assuring advertisers in a public note that he did not want it to become a “free-for-all hellscape”.

Former US President Donald Trump, who was banned by Twitter last year following the Capitol riot in January 2021, claimed that the takeover meant that Twitter was now in “sane hands” while reiterating his “love” for his own Twitter-like service, Truth Social.

Meanwhile, Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s former president and current deputy head of the Security Council also welcomed the new ownership.

“Good luck @elonmusk in overcoming political bias and ideological dictatorship on Twitter,” tweeted Mr Medvedev.