“THE BIRD IS FREE”, ELON MUSK TWEETS AFTER AQUIRING TWITTER FOR $44BN

Elon Musk now controls Twitter following months of dithering, legal disputes, rhetorical mudslinging, and the narrow escape of a full-blown trial.

According to three people with knowledge of the issue, Musk finalised his $44 billion bid to purchase the social media platform on Thursday night. He chatted with engineers and advertising executives after arriving at Twitter's San Francisco headquarters on Wednesday. He also started purging staff; on Thursday, at least four senior Twitter officials, including the CEO and CFO, were let go.

It ends a drama in which Twitter went to court to force the billionaire to abide by the terms of a takeover agreement that he had attempted to elude.

According to US media sources, the company's chief executive, Mr. Parag Agrawal, chief financial officer, Ned Segal, and senior legal and policy executive, Vijaya Gadde, have all left the organisation.

Following the completion of the transaction, Mr. Agrawal and Mr. Segal were led from Twitter's San Francisco offices, according to Reuters.

According to Insider, the executives were rewarded handsomely for their efforts. Agrawal received $38.7 million, Segal $25.4 million, Gadde $12.5 million, and Personette, who tweeted yesterday about how thrilled she was about Musk's acquisition, received $11.2 million.

Musk made an initial bid to purchase Twitter in April, but later changed his mind and sought to withdraw that offer in May. On October 4th, he had a second change of heart and submitted a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission reaffirming his adherence to the original arrangement. This week, Musk spoke with Twitter staff, and now that his $44 billion acquisition is complete, he is anticipated to speak to them on Friday.