The sale was finalised following a long legal battle.
After months of back-and-forth, Elon Musk and Twitter have finalised a purchase of the company for $44 billion.
The Tesla CEO originally announced plans to buy the social media in April 2022, but the deal has been marred with controversy.
Musk announced plans to cancel the deal after agreeing to the sale, before Twitter began legal action against him.
The lawsuit accused Musk of a “long list” of breaches of the merger agreement and argued that he backed out of the deal as it “no longer serves his personal interests”.
Musk was then given a deadline to finish the deal by Friday (28 October).
Elon announced the closure of the deal by tweeting “The bird is free”, a reference to Twitter’s logo.
the bird is freed
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 28, 2022
He has also updated his Twitter bio to “Chief Twit”, and it’s expected that he’ll take the role of CEO within the company as well.
Musk revealed his plans for the social media in an open letter titled “Dear Twitter Advertisers“.
“The reason I acquired Twitter is because it is important to the future of civilization to have a common digital town square, where a wide range of beliefs can be debated in a healthy manner, without resorting to violence,” he explained.
“There is currently great danger that social media will splinter into far right-wing and far left-wing echo chambers that generate more hate and divide our society.
“In the relentless pursuit of clicks, much of traditional media has fueled and catered to those polarised extremes, as they believe that is what brings in the money, but, in doing so, the opportunity for dialogue is lost.”
Dear Twitter Advertisers pic.twitter.com/GMwHmInPAS
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 27, 2022
Musk said that he bought Twitter not to make more money but “to try to help humanity” whom he loves.
“And I do so with humility, recognizing that failure in pursuing this goal, despite our best efforts, is a very real possibility,” he added.
However, the Tesla CEO also said that Twitter “obviously cannot become a free-for-all hellscape, where anything can be said with no consequences.”
“In addition to adhering to the laws of the land, our platform must be warm and welcoming to all, where you can choose your desired experience according to your preferences, just as you can choose, for example, to see movies or play video games ranging from all ages to mature,” he explained.
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