Yahoo Finance Elon Musk Twitter deal - live: ‘Chief Twit’ billionaire visits Twitter HQ with a sink
Billionaire Elon Musk bizarrely arrived at Twitter's San Francisco headquarters carrying a kitchen sink ahead of closing his $44bn deal to purchase the micro-blogging site.
“Entering Twitter HQ – let that sink in!” the Tesla CEO tweeted.
Mr Musk changed his Twitter profile to refer to himself as “Chief Twit” and his location as Twitter headquarters.
A court has given him until Friday to close his April agreement to acquire the company after he earlier tried to back out of the deal.
Mr Musk, the world's richest person, agreed to buy the company for $54.20 a share in April, but by July had indicated that he had changed his mind, citing bot and spam issues.
He renewed his attempt to acquire the company earlier this month.
Mr Musk reportedly told Twitter employees during his visit that he does not plan to cut 75 per cent of the staff after acquiring the company.
According to The Washington Post report, the billionaire had told prospective investors that he intends to reduce the company’s staff from around 7,500 down to just over 2,000 after the takeover.
Key Points
Elon Musk walks into Twitter HQ with a sink
Musk tells Twitter employees he will not cut 75 per cent of jobs
ICYMI | Biden admin eyes national security reviews into Musk’s Twitter deal
10:45 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
The Biden administration is reportedly considering subjecting two of Elon Musk’s business ventures to a national security review.
Bloomberg News spoke with individuals familiar with the matter who claimed that the Tesla CEO’s acquisition of Twitter and his management of the SpaceX Starlink satellite network have raised some concerns in the Biden White House.
Talks that could determine whether or not Mr Musk will be subject to review are still in their infancy, according to the source.
Graig Graziosi has more.
Biden administration eyes national security reviews into Elon Musk’s Twitter deal
Musk hints at major update to Twitter
10:00 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Elon Musk has hinted that he plans a major update to Twitter if his deal to buy the platform goes ahead.
He has previously shared his intention to follow through with the deal, as well as ideas on how he might change Twitter once he is in charge.
The latest indication of what he plans to do with Twitter involves an integrated video feature that would compete with YouTube and generate additional revenue for the app.
Anthony Cuthbertson reports.
Elon Musk hints at major update to Twitter
Dogecoin soars as Musk nears Twitter deal completion
09:15 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Dogecoin, the popular meme coin, rallied nearly 16 per cent over the past 24 hours as Elon Musk nears the completion of his $44bn Twitter deal.
The Tesla chief has been a major supporter of dogecoin, which has constantly influenced its price.
In June, the billionaire said he would continue buying dogecoin despite the meme-inspired cryptocurrency losing more than 90 per cent of its value over the last 13 months.
“I will keep supporting dogecoin,” he had tweeted.
What are Elon Musk’s political beliefs?
08:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
“I prefer to stay out of politics” - those were Elon Musk’s words when the tech exec was forced to respond to a claim by Texas governor Greg Abbott that he supported the state’s anti-abortion laws.
If so, Mr Musk has a funny way of showing it. Over his decade-plus of public fame as the chief executive of Tesla and SpaceX, the South-African-born tycoon has attacked everyone and everything, from Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders through individual regulatory officials to Covid rules, trade unions, and “pronouns”.
In May, he capped off months of criticism of US president Joe Biden by revealing that in the past he had “overwhelmingly” voted for Democrats, but would now switch his support to Republicans in at least one future election.
“In the past I voted Democrat, because they were (mostly) the kindness party. But they have become the party of division and hate, so I can no longer support them and will vote Republican,” he said.
Io Dodds has more.
What are Elon Musk’s political beliefs?
Musk chats with Twitter staff over coffee
07:45 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Billionaire Elon Musk, who visited the Twitter headquarters yesterday ahead of closing his $44bn purchasing deal, spent time talking with the staff over coffee.
Twitter’s account manager of customer success Noemi Khachian shared a picture of the soon-to-be boss from the San Francisco office. “Welcome!!! Elon Musk,” she wrote.
Welcome!!! @elonmusk :) pic.twitter.com/2OD2QgqXxd
— Noémi (@NoemiKhachian) October 26, 2022
“Welcome to the office Elon Musk. Nice chatting with you at an impromptu coffee chat in the perch,” wrote Nate Esparza, technical operations manager at Twitter.
Would Elon Musk allow Donald Trump back on Twitter?
07:04 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Former president Donald Trump remains one of the toughest headaches for managers of social media platforms to date.
With Elon Musk on the verge of closing in the $44bn purchasing deal, one big question looms - What would a Musk takeover of Twitter mean for the 45th president.
Sequestered away at Mar-a-Lago surrounded by only his closest supporters, Mr Trump has done nothing to reform his conduct following bans from Twitter, Facebook and Instagram in early 2021 — a consequence of his false claims about the 2020 election fomenting a deadly riot at the US Capitol.
John Bowden has more.
Would Elon Musk allow Donald Trump back on Twitter?
How Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover impacted its share price
06:32 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
A combination of inflation fears and increasing interest rates saw advertising spending on the social media platform plunge, causing Twitter’s stock price to fall from around $63 at the height of the bull market in November to under $33.
But unbeknownst to shareholders, one of Twitter’s most prominent and active users had been quietly buying up shares in the company for several months.
Elon Musk began accumulating Twitter stock in January, and by mid-March he had amassed a five per cent stake in the company.
Bevan Hurley explains how the billionaire’s dalliance with purchasing the platform caused its stock price to frequently fluctuate.
How Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover impacted its share price
Musk tells Twitter employees he will not cut 75 per cent of jobs
06:03 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Elon Musk told Twitter employees that he does not plan to cut 75 per cent of the staff when he acquires the company, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
The Tesla chief denied the previously reported number in an address to employees at the company’s San Francisco office yesterday.
According to a Washington Post report, the billionaire had told prospective investors that he intends to reduce the company’s staff from around 7,500 down to just over 2,000 after the takeover.
Mr Musk is still expected to cut staff as part of the takeover.
Musk walks into Twitter HQ with a sink
05:51 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Billionaire Elon Musk shared a video of him walking into Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters carrying a kitchen sink ahead of the Friday deadline to close the $44bn purchase deal.
“Entering Twitter HQ - let that sink in!” Mr Musk wrote.
Entering Twitter HQ – let that sink in! pic.twitter.com/D68z4K2wq7
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 26, 2022
He also updated his Twitter bio to read “Chief Twit” and changed his location to “Twitter HQ”.
In the following tweet, Mr Musk wrote: “Meeting a lot of cool people at Twitter today!”
05:02 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Welcome to The Independent’s coverage of Elon Musk’s Twitter deal.
