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Musk launches hostile takeover bid v Twitter.

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  • #46
    Originally posted by maverick View Post
    Interesting development at Twitter:
    Twitter whistleblower Peiter "Mudge" Zatko raises concerns over security threats at platform - CNN. Pretty fortuitous and should give Musk another talking point.
    Speaking for myself, I wouldn't get involve in a business deal with either Musk or Twitter. No matter what happens, you'll get burned in one way or another.
    “He was the most prodigious personification of all human inferiorities. He was an utterly incapable, unadapted, irresponsible, psychopathic personality, full of empty, infantile fantasies, but cursed with the keen intuition of a rat or a guttersnipe. He represented the shadow, the inferior part of everybody’s personality, in an overwhelming degree, and this was another reason why they fell for him.”

    Comment


    • #47
      Elon Musk cited a Putin speech in private texts with a banker saying the Twitter deal wouldn't make sense 'if we're heading into World War 3'
      • Elon Musk in a private text said it might not "make sense" to buy Twitter amid the war in Ukraine.
      • Musk said this months before formally attempting to back out of the $44 billion acquisition.
      • A Twitter lawyer on Tuesday argued texts showed Musk was motivated by concern over his finances.
      Elon Musk wanted to "slow down" his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter months after Russia invaded Ukraine, saying in private texts that it wouldn't make sense to buy Twitter "if we're heading into World War 3."

      These texts came to light in a hearing Tuesday about pushing back a trial in October over Musk's deal to buy Twitter, along with other disputes about discovery. Musk told Twitter in July he was officially backing out of his agreement to buy the company in a letter that argued Twitter had wrongfully withheld data on "bots" and spam accounts.

      The text messages were sent May 8 to a banker at Morgan Stanley, which is financing part of Musk's deal. In these texts, the billionaire also cited a coming speech from Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin gave a speech May 9 for the 77th anniversary of the Allied victory over Nazi Germany, where he said Russia's decision to invade Ukraine in February was the "only right decision" and baselessly claimed the West was "preparing for invasion of Russia."

      "Let's slow down just a few days," Twitter's lawyer said, reading out Musk's texts during the hearing. "Putin's speech tomorrow is really important. It won't make sense to buy Twitter if we're heading into World War 3."

      A lawyer for Musk, Alex Spiro of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, said the characterization of the texts in court was "utter nonsense as the full text chain shows." The full text chain is expected to be filed on the court docket next week.

      Musk signed an agreement in April to buy Twitter and take it private. When Musk said he was dropping the deal in July, Twitter almost immediately sued him to enforce the contract and make Musk acquire it at the agreed-upon $44 billion price. Musk is widely seen to be on the back foot in the court battle, set to go to a five-day trial in early October.

      Before Tuesday's hearing, Musk's lawyers cited a whistleblower complaint from Peiter Zatko, Twitter's former chief information-security officer, who told Congress last month in a formal disclosure that Twitter was inadequately dealing with various security issues. They said the issues Zatko presented called for more time.

      In reading Musk's texts, Twitter's lawyer reiterated the company's argument that Musk was in contractual breach and his only motivation for trying to get out of the deal was personal financial concerns. Lawyers for Musk argued during the hearing that Twitter hadn't found any evidence to support its theory that he dropped the deal over economic concerns. "Their theory about what really happened isn't what really happened," his lawyer said at the hearing.

      The Tesla CEO's legal team argues the social-media company intentionally misled him about the number of daily users and spam accounts on its site, amounting to fraud and breach of contract.
      ________
      “He was the most prodigious personification of all human inferiorities. He was an utterly incapable, unadapted, irresponsible, psychopathic personality, full of empty, infantile fantasies, but cursed with the keen intuition of a rat or a guttersnipe. He represented the shadow, the inferior part of everybody’s personality, in an overwhelming degree, and this was another reason why they fell for him.”

      Comment


      • #48
        Twitter agreed to pay whistleblower $7 million in June settlement - WSJ

        (Reuters) -Twitter Inc agreed in June to pay about $7 million to the whistleblower whose allegations will be part of Elon Musk's case against the company, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.

        The whistleblower, Peiter "Mudge" Zatko, who was fired by Twitter in January and was the company's security head, last month accused the social media firm of falsely claiming it had a solid security plan and making misleading statements about its defenses against hackers and spam accounts.

        Zatko will meet the U.S. Senate Judiciary committee on Sept. 13 to discuss the allegations.

        The settlement was completed days before Zatko filed his whistleblower complaint in July, according to the WSJ report. (https://on.wsj.com/3L3uRb1)

        As part of the settlement, Zatko agreed to a nondisclosure agreement that forbids him from speaking publicly about his time at Twitter or disparaging the company, the WSJ said.

        The confidential June settlement was related to Zatko's lost compensation and followed monthslong mediation over tens of millions of dollars in potential pay, the WSJ reported.

        Twitter did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

        Musk is engaged in a head-on legal battle with Twitter over his offer to buy the company for $44 billion after he changed course to drop the deal saying the social media firm had misled him about the number of bots and fake accounts on the site.
        ________
        “He was the most prodigious personification of all human inferiorities. He was an utterly incapable, unadapted, irresponsible, psychopathic personality, full of empty, infantile fantasies, but cursed with the keen intuition of a rat or a guttersnipe. He represented the shadow, the inferior part of everybody’s personality, in an overwhelming degree, and this was another reason why they fell for him.”

        Comment


        • #49
          Elon Musk dreams up a new way to squirm out of his $44 billion Twitter acquisition agreement
          • Elon Musk's lawyers issue a third letter trying to terminate his deal to acquire Twitter.
          • A $7.75 million payment to Peiter "Mudge" Zatko is a new breach of the agreement, Musk claimed.
          • Zatko is a whistleblower against Twitter. His disclosure openly backs some Musk allegations.
          Elon Musk found a new reason to walk away from buying Twitter. This time it's a huge severance package the company paid to a former executive who recently accused it of serious security flaws.

          In a letter sent Friday afternoon by Musk's legal counsel to Twitter's chief legal officer Vijaya Gadde, the billionaire took issue with a $7.75 million payment in late June to Peiter Zatko, better known as "Mudge," after he was let go from the company.

          Lawyers for Musk argued the payment is a breach of the $44 billion merger agreement signed back in April. Twitter promised in the deal not to "provide any severance or termination payments or benefits to any Company Service Provider," the attorneys wrote in the letter, while noting that the definition of a "Company Service Provider" includes former Twitter employees.

          This marks the third "notice of termination" of the merger agreement sent by Musk to Twitter. The first was sent in early July, claiming that Musk had the right to cancel the deal because Twitter's allegedly withheld requested data and information regarding the number of "bots" or spam accounts on the platform. The second was in August, pointing to Zatko's whistleblower disclosure as a new basis for Musk to call off the acquisition. Broadly speaking, Musk is accusing Twitter of "fraud" by misleading him on its business and monetization capabilities, as well as public investors and the SEC.

          "Although the Musk parties believe this termination notice is not legally necessary to terminate the merger agreement because they have already validly terminated it... the Musk parties are delivering this additional termination notice in the event that [earlier notices are] determined to be invalid for any reason," the letter adds.

          Representatives for Twitter could not be immediately reached for comment. The company has repeatedly stood by its existing disclosures about bots on its service.

          Musk has leapt on Zatko's whistleblower disclosure, made public in August, as he fights in Delaware Chancery Court to walk away from his agreement to buy Twitter at no cost. Twitter sued Musk in July, saying he is legally bound to purchase the company for $44 billion and Musk's true reason for backing out was worry over his personal fortune being affected by a downward turn in financial markets. The company also recently claimed that Musk's personal texts show he was thinking about getting out of the deal in early May, just a few weeks after he agreed to buy it.

          As for Zatko, a hacker turned security expert, he spent only a year working at Twitter. The company claims he was fired earlier this year for performance issues and that all of the concerns he raised about security were investigated when he was still with the company. Zatko's lengthy disclosure to Congress claimed Twitter suffers from unchecked and "egregious" security flaws that he was told to withhold or temper the seriousness of in presentations to the company's board. He also claimed Twitter "lied" to Musk about its measuring of "bot" accounts. Twitter called Zatko's disclosure "opportunistic" and an obvious attempt to harm the company.

          While Twitter employees told Insider they are suspicious of Zatko's motivations, some of his claims struck a chord with current Twitter workers.

          Twitter's lawsuit against Musk is headed to a five-day trial in early October.
          ________
          “He was the most prodigious personification of all human inferiorities. He was an utterly incapable, unadapted, irresponsible, psychopathic personality, full of empty, infantile fantasies, but cursed with the keen intuition of a rat or a guttersnipe. He represented the shadow, the inferior part of everybody’s personality, in an overwhelming degree, and this was another reason why they fell for him.”

          Comment


          • #50
            Elon Musk Proposes Closing Twitter Deal on Original Terms
            An agreement would allow the social-media company and the billionaire to avert a high-stakes trial that was set to start soon

            Elon Musk has offered to close his $44 billion deal to buy Twitter Inc. on the terms he originally agreed to, according to a person familiar with the matter, an unexpected twist that could allow the two sides to avert a high-stakes trial set to begin soon.

            The billionaire’s lawyers communicated the proposal to Twitter’s lawyers overnight Monday and filed a letter confidentially with the Delaware Chancery Court ahead of an emergency hearing on the matter scheduled for Tuesday, the person said.

            If Twitter accepts the proposal, the two sides wouldn’t have to follow through on a five-day nonjury trial set to begin Oct. 17. There are no guarantees they will reach a deal and the trial could still go forward as planned.

            Mr. Musk was set to be deposed later this week as part of the preparations for the trial.

            Bloomberg earlier reported on Mr. Musk’s proposal to pay the originally agreed-upon $54.20 a share.

            _________

            Wait, wasn't there some kind of flap about bots? What happened to that? Now we're back to the beginning?
            “He was the most prodigious personification of all human inferiorities. He was an utterly incapable, unadapted, irresponsible, psychopathic personality, full of empty, infantile fantasies, but cursed with the keen intuition of a rat or a guttersnipe. He represented the shadow, the inferior part of everybody’s personality, in an overwhelming degree, and this was another reason why they fell for him.”

            Comment


            • #51
              Musk Plans to Buy Twitter after All
              Elon Musk made an offer to buy Twitter at $54.20 per share for a total of $44 billion, then withdrew the offer and said he'd fight in court to be allowed to cancel the purchase. But now, shortly before the trial was set to begin, he says he is planning to go through with the deal after all. For a while, he seemed to have cold feet as the market nosedived and his stock holdings dropped. Now he seems to be over his buyer's remorse—unless he changes his mind again.

              Why the sudden change of mind—again? A real possibility is that Twitter has sued him for breach of contract and Musk's lawyers have told him that he would probably lose in court. Musk foolishly waived due diligence, which means he can't argue in court that he discovered things about the company after signing that made the deal unattractive. In essence, he declared in the contract that he already knew everything he needed to know and gave up his right to further investigation. That, coupled with fact that the judge in the case is Kathaleen St. Jude McCormick, could be the reason. She is known to be a stickler for insisting that when people sign contracts, they must abide by them or suffer serious consequences. In her view, the time for negotiations is before you sign a contract, not after.

              Musk has repeatedly said that he is against censorship and will replatform Donald Trump if he gains control. This will put Trump in a real bind. On the one hand, getting back on Twitter would give the former president an enormous reach, something that would help a 2024 run greatly. On the other hand, that move would be the death knell for Truth Social and the potential billion-dollar grift that it could entail. However, the SEC is making bad noises about Trump's plans to merge it into an empty-shell company and make lots of money in the process. Trump might already see the writing on the wall and believe it says that the merger is doomed. Still, a Musk takeover of Twitter would force Trump to choose between power and money, not a choice he wants to make.

              If Musk buys Twitter, that has massive implications. First, the entire management of Twitter would be canned instantly and replaced with Musk and/or Trump flunkies. Since Musk is an actual successful businessman, he would probably prefer managers who were actually capable of running the company.

              Second, many of the technical people would quit outright rather than work for Musk. This could cripple the company, depending on who quit. There could also be people who hate Trump and Musk and stay on for the purpose of sabotaging the company from inside. Replacing large numbers of quitters may not be easy and with a shortage of programmers, bots could thrive on the platform.

              Third, Musk says he is for free speech and against censorship. Ain't gonna happen. No way. If Musk and Trump take over, millions of people who hate both of them are going to start tweeting all manner of hate, misinformation, porn, and other stuff that Musk will not like at all. The goal will to be destroy Twitter. To combat that, Musk will have to implement new and heavy censorship rules, only different ones from the current Twitter. Instead of censoring people who put out misinformation and lies, he will have to censor people who hate himself and Trump. The people who will try to take down Twitter will get cleverer and cleverer, requiring Musk to outdo them—and with a stripped-down technical staff. The anti-Musk anti-Trump folks' goal will be to turn Twitter into a stinking cesspool so advertisers don't want to be there, thus causing Musk to lose money. Musk could try to battle this with money, offering programmers very high salaries with huge bonuses if they stay for 1 or 2 years. It is impossible to predict who might win this, but if Musk tries to turn Twitter into a dream paradise for conservatives, he will have a huge fight on his hands and it is impossible to predict how it will turn out. Among other results might be the creation of a new platform for progressive voices, leaving Twitter to conservatives. This way the two sides would not have to listen to each other at all.

              As if his plan to follow through and actually buy Twitter didn't give him enough attention, Musk sent out a tweet yesterday asking his 100 million followers to vote on his proposed plan for peace in Ukraine. The plan consists of giving Vladimir Putin what he wants and hoping he is satisfied merely with getting to keep eastern Ukraine and Crimea and having Ukraine neutered. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded with a poll of his own, asking his followers which Musk they like better, the pro-Russia Musk or the pro-Ukraine Musk. (V)
              _______
              “He was the most prodigious personification of all human inferiorities. He was an utterly incapable, unadapted, irresponsible, psychopathic personality, full of empty, infantile fantasies, but cursed with the keen intuition of a rat or a guttersnipe. He represented the shadow, the inferior part of everybody’s personality, in an overwhelming degree, and this was another reason why they fell for him.”

              Comment


              • #52
                Does Tusk want to own Twitter or do the people who finance his operations want his name attached to Twitter, is this just some deal behind the scenes. With the occasional piece of gold given to the MSM?

                Comment


                • #53
                  Originally posted by TopHatter View Post
                  In her view, the time for negotiations is before you sign a contract, not after.
                  What a novel idea.

                  No way. If Musk and Trump take over
                  Musk letting Trump back on? Oh, boy, now I get to call him an asshole everyday.

                  Comment


                  • #54
                    Originally posted by tbm3fan View Post
                    Musk letting Trump back on? Oh, boy, now I get to call him an asshole everyday.
                    He sure is. Or at least he said he was going to several months ago.
                    “He was the most prodigious personification of all human inferiorities. He was an utterly incapable, unadapted, irresponsible, psychopathic personality, full of empty, infantile fantasies, but cursed with the keen intuition of a rat or a guttersnipe. He represented the shadow, the inferior part of everybody’s personality, in an overwhelming degree, and this was another reason why they fell for him.”

                    Comment


                    • #55
                      Elon Musk is under federal investigations, Twitter says in court filing
                      WILMINGTON, Del. (Reuters) -Elon Musk is being investigated by federal authorities over his conduct in his $44 billion takeover deal for Twitter Inc, the social media company said in a court filing released on Thursday.

                      While the filing said he was under investigations, it did not say what the exact focus of the probes was and which federal authorities are conducting them.

                      Twitter, which sued Musk in July to force him to close the deal, said attorneys for the Tesla Inc CEO had claimed "investigative privilege" when refusing to hand over documents it had sought.

                      In late September, Musk's attorneys had provided a "privilege log" identifying documents to be withheld, Twitter said. The log referenced drafts of a May 13 email to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and a slide presentation to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

                      "This game of 'hide the ball' must end," the company said in the court filing.

                      The court filing, which asked Delaware judge Kathaleen McCormick to order Musk's attorneys to provide the documents, was made on Oct. 6 - the same day that McCormick paused litigation between the two sides after Musk reversed course and said he would proceed with the deal.

                      Alex Spiro, an attorney for Musk, told Reuters that Twitter's court filing was a "misdirection" and asserted: "It is Twitter's executives that are under federal investigation."

                      Twitter declined to comment on Spiro's statement. It also declined comment when asked by Reuters about its understanding of any investigation into Musk.

                      The SEC did not immediately respond to a request for comment and the FTC declined to comment.

                      The SEC has questioned Musk's comments about the Twitter acquisition, including whether a 9% stake he had built up before announcing his bid had been disclosed late and why it indicated that he intended to be a passive shareholder. Musk later refiled the disclosure to indicate he was an active investor.

                      In June, the SEC asked Musk in a letter whether he should have amended his public filing to reflect his intention to suspend or abandon the deal.

                      The Information, a tech news site, reported in April that the FTC was scrutinizing whether Musk failed to comply with the antitrust reporting requirement relating to an investor's intentions of being a passive or active shareholder.

                      Twitter said in June, however, that the takeover deal with Musk had cleared an antitrust waiting period for review by the FTC and U.S. Justice Department.

                      McCormick has given Musk until Oct. 28 to close the acquisition. If the deal does not get done by then, a trial date will be set for November.
                      ________

                      Idiots, doing idiot things, because they're idiots....
                      “He was the most prodigious personification of all human inferiorities. He was an utterly incapable, unadapted, irresponsible, psychopathic personality, full of empty, infantile fantasies, but cursed with the keen intuition of a rat or a guttersnipe. He represented the shadow, the inferior part of everybody’s personality, in an overwhelming degree, and this was another reason why they fell for him.”

                      Comment


                      • #56
                        Elon speaking about "free speech" is the biggest joke ever. This man has consistently shown his disdain against fighting censorship by authoritarian regimes in the East. He's a despicable human being who will jump in bed with dictators on a dime.
                        Cow is the only animal that not only inhales oxygen, but also exhales it.
                        -Rekha Arya, Former Minister of Animal Husbandry

                        Comment


                        • #57
                          Originally posted by Tronic View Post
                          Elon speaking about "free speech" is the biggest joke ever. This man has consistently shown his disdain against fighting censorship by authoritarian regimes in the East. He's a despicable human being who will jump in bed with dictators on a dime.
                          Well he is a product of the apartheid South Africa so this is the least surprising thing about him.

                          On my last project we had several consultants who were South Africans...all of them white. Except for 1 their racism was palpable. Made for some "interesting" meetings when our PM was Asian American and our division chief was African American. Turns out the University of Witwatersrand has a strong SAP software program and these critters are sprinkled across the globe as SAP consultants for both industry & government programs.
                          “Loyalty to country ALWAYS. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it.”
                          Mark Twain

                          Comment


                          • #58
                            Musk Tells Bankers He Plans to Close Twitter Deal on Friday

                            (Bloomberg) -- Elon Musk pledged Monday to close the acquisition of Twitter Inc. by Friday in a video conference call with bankers helping fund the deal, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

                            The banks, which are providing $13 billion of debt financing, have finished putting together the final credit agreement and are in the process of signing the documentation, one of the last steps before actually sending the cash to Musk, said the people, who asked not to be named discussing a private transaction.

                            Twitter shares jumped on the news and traded as high as $53.18, approaching Musk’s $54.20 acquisition price.

                            The Wall Street lenders, led by Morgan Stanley, had already been preparing in recent weeks to fund the debt, Bloomberg previously reported. But nothing is ever certain with Musk, the mercurial billionaire who only weeks ago was seeking to back out of the deal. These latest developments suggest he is in the final stages of closing the transaction by a court-issued Oct. 28 deadline.

                            The banks are expected to receive one of the last formalities -- a borrowing notice -- on Tuesday, and the cash is expected to be held in escrow on Thursday, the people said.

                            Morgan Stanley and Twitter declined to comment, while representatives for Musk didn’t respond to a request seeking comment.

                            Bank Pain
                            On the call, Musk also promised to help the banks market the debt to money managers after the deal closes, the people said.

                            That is key for the group of seven banks, which have been left in a lurch after Musk’s sudden reversal to go through with buying Twitter in early October. Normally the banks would offload debt commitments to money managers in the form of junk bonds and leveraged loans before a deal closes, but the compressed timeline and a global deterioration of credit conditions have forced them to keep the debt on their books.

                            In a normal buyout transaction, the banks, new owner, and company management would come together to hold calls with investors to sell the debt and pitch the business. But the original debt commitment letter stipulated that Musk’s side would help for up to 30 days after closing, and that Musk would participate for at most two hours in any investor meetings.

                            Banks are facing paper losses of roughly $500 million on the transaction -- pain that would be realized once the debt is sold to institutional investors. The average cost of borrowing spiked this year along with accelerating inflation, recession fears, and geopolitical turmoil, well above the 11.75% maximum interest rate that the banks promised Musk on the riskiest tranche of the debt, leaving them on the hook for the difference. Triple-C rated junk bonds are trading at about 15.8% on average, according to Bloomberg index data.

                            Wall Street banks have already had to use about $30 billion of their own cash this year to fund loans for acquisitions and buyouts that they weren’t able to offload to investors. That would swell to over $40 billion once banks fund the Twitter deal on Friday, as expected.

                            Read more: Banks Saddled With $30 Billion in Unwanted Debt in Risk Exodus

                            Twitter’s total purchase price is $44 billion. The banks committed to provide the debt financing in April -- when investor appetite for risky assets was more robust -- and originally hoped to sell $6.5 billion of leveraged loans and $6 billion of junk bonds, split equally into secured and unsecured tranches.

                            They also provided $500 million of a special type of loan typically held by banks called a revolving credit facility, which Twitter will be able to borrow from and pay back until maturity.
                            _______
                            “He was the most prodigious personification of all human inferiorities. He was an utterly incapable, unadapted, irresponsible, psychopathic personality, full of empty, infantile fantasies, but cursed with the keen intuition of a rat or a guttersnipe. He represented the shadow, the inferior part of everybody’s personality, in an overwhelming degree, and this was another reason why they fell for him.”

                            Comment


                            • #59
                              This case has more twists and turns than an awesome modern rollercoaster!
                              “Loyalty to country ALWAYS. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it.”
                              Mark Twain

                              Comment


                              • #60
                                Elon Musk’s $44 billion Twitter purchase is ‘one of the most overpaid tech acquisitions in history,’ Wedbush’s Dan Ives says. Twitter’s fair value is only $25 billion

                                With his $44 billion deal to buy Twitter coming to a close, Elon Musk arrived at the social media giant’s headquarters on Wednesday carrying a sink.

                                The 51-year-old Tesla CEO shared a video of himself walking into Twitter’s swanky San Francisco offices with the caption: “Entering Twitter HQ—let that sink in!”

                                All strained puns aside, after months of back and forth court battles and social media drama, Twitter and Musk have agreed to terms, thanks in part to a Delaware court.

                                But Wedbush Securities tech analyst Dan Ives is warning that those terms aren’t exactly favorable for the world’s richest man.

                                “The $44 billion price tag for Twitter will go down as one of the most overpaid tech acquisitions in the history of M&A deals on the Street in our opinion,” Ives wrote in a Thursday note to clients. “Musk buying Twitter remains a major head-scratcher.”

                                Ives argued that Twitter’s fair value is just $25 billion, meaning Musk overpaid by some $19 billion. And although it took the Tesla CEO months to complete his acquisition of Twitter, the real work is just beginning.

                                “As we have discussed, the easy part for Musk was buying Twitter, the difficult part and Everest-like uphill battle looking ahead will be fixing this troubled asset,” Ives wrote.

                                Twitter hasn’t exactly been hitting its stride in recent quarters. The company missed analyst earnings estimates in the second quarter and saw its revenue decline 1% to $1.18 billion.

                                Management blamed the poor results on “advertising industry headwinds associated with the macroenvironment,” which isn’t great news considering Alphabet’s earnings revealed further weakness in the advertising space just this week.

                                Alphabet’s revenue growth shrank from 41% in the third quarter a year ago to just 6% in the same quarter this year. And YouTube, which relies on advertising, was particularly affected.

                                CFO Ruth Porat said during the company’s earnings call that YouTube’s revenue decline “primarily reflects further pullbacks in advertiser spends.”

                                Since Twitter earned nearly 90% of its revenues from advertising in 2021, Musk clearly has his work cut out for him to get the company running on all cylinders. But he could drastically improve the firm’s profitability by cutting staff. And rumors that he might slash up to 75% of Twitter’s workforce have been swirling in recent weeks.

                                However, on Wednesday, Bloomberg reported that the rumors appear to be, well, just rumors. Musk told Twitter staff that he didn’t plan to cut 75% of the workforce on his first day in the office, according to unnamed sources.

                                The Tesla CEO and now “Chief Twit” of Twitter also said that he plans to double Twitter’s revenue within three years, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, again citing unnamed sources. But how he might accomplish this task is still up for debate, Ives said.

                                Musk has made various proposals for how he might boost Twitter’s revenue, from changing up the company’s leadership to creating a new “everything app,” which he calls the “X” app.

                                “Buying Twitter is an accelerant to creating X, the everything app,” he tweeted on Oct. 4, adding that the acquisition could accelerate the app’s creation by up to five years.

                                The “X” app would be modeled after China’s “super app” WeChat, and include everything from video chats and messaging to streaming and payments. But so far, Musk hasn’t given any details on the timeline for “X” app’s creation or its link to Twitter.

                                Ives argued that the completion of the Twitter acquisition will lead to more questions than answers in the months ahead, especially surrounding the future of the “X” app.

                                “Once Musk takes over Twitter on Friday, major questions will remain around changes to the platform, monetization efforts, headcount cuts on the horizon, and the long-term strategy around the ‘X’ App,” he wrote.

                                Musk put out a statement on Twitter on Thursday attempting to clarify the reasons behind his acquisition of the company, arguing that he hopes to create a “digital town square where a wide range of beliefs can be debated in a healthy manner.”

                                “That is why I bought Twitter. I didn’t do it because it was easy. I didn’t do it to make more money. I did it to try to help humanity, whom I love,” he wrote.
                                _________

                                Man what an egomaniac
                                “He was the most prodigious personification of all human inferiorities. He was an utterly incapable, unadapted, irresponsible, psychopathic personality, full of empty, infantile fantasies, but cursed with the keen intuition of a rat or a guttersnipe. He represented the shadow, the inferior part of everybody’s personality, in an overwhelming degree, and this was another reason why they fell for him.”

                                Comment

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