Elon Musk wants people to know he is throwing out everything but the kitchen sink at Twitter. The billionaire posted a video to Twitter of him walking into Twitter headquarters carrying a kitchen sink, captioned, “Entering Twitter HQ – let that sink in!” He also changed his Twitter public profile descriptor to, “Chief Twit.”
5PM Friday is the reported closing time for his $44 billion acquisition of the company and he is scheduled to address Twitter staff on Friday. Lawyers and bankers on both sides are reported to be racing to finalize the paperwork. Employees had received a memo from Leslie Berland, Twitter’s chief marketing officer, noting that Musk would be touring the facilities this week.
The memo read, “Elon is in the SF office this week meeting with folks, walking the halls, and continuing to dive in on the important work you all do. For everyone else, this is just the beginning of many meetings and conversations with Elon, and you’ll all hear directly from him on Friday.”
Twitter stock rose 1.1% hitting $53.35 at the close on Wednesday.
Wall Street lenders, with Morgan Stanley leading, have been preparing the funding of the debt in recent weeks. Although the legal saga behind the purchase, as well as Musk’s mercurial temperament have left investors uncertain the deal would go through. However these recent events have led most to believe these are the final stages of the acquisition.
According to sources, funds have already been transferred in support of the deal by some of the equity investors, and Musk’s lawyers have written to investors, looking to confirm the deal is on track to close by the deadline.
Twitter staff are reported to be dreading what comes next. Potential investors had been told by Musk he will cut staffing at the social media giant by 75%, reducing the current workforce of 7,500 to roughly 1,900 employees, as part of a plan to double revenue within three years. Staff is fearful of the reduction in workers as well as a potential reorganization.
Many are also fearing the elimination of censorship of policy violations on the platform. Musk has indicated he would allow any speech on the platform which was not blatantly illegal, and he would reinstate the accounts of various individuals who have been banned amid controversies, chief among which would be former President Donald J. Trump. It is expected the majority of the 75% of the staff which will be cut will come from Twitter’s massive content moderation staff, crippling that function on the platform.
