Elon Musk has completed his $44-billion takeover of Twitter, the company informed a US markets regulator, ending months of legal drama but opening a new chapter of uncertainty for the influential social media platform.
As part of the filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday, Twitter confirmed reports in US media that its deal with the tech billionaire and Tesla boss had closed.
"Let the good times roll," Musk tweeted Friday morning.
The notification to the SEC said the takeover became "effective" on Thursday. The filing was necessary for San Francisco-based Twitter to be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange, as Musk is taking Twitter private.
Multiple US media outlets, including the Washington Post, New York Times and CNN, reported Musk spent his first day on the job cleaning house.
The Musk era started with the firing of chief executive officer Parag Agrawal, finance chief Ned Segal and Vijaya Gadde, the head of legal policy, they reported, cited unnamed sources.
The Washington Post reported that Musk plans to cut three-quarters of Twitter's 7,500 employees.
Shortly after the reports broke late Thursday, Musk, 51, tweeted "the bird is freed."
The Twitter logo is a blue bird and Musk had repeatedly stated that he wanted to free the social media platform from restrictions on freedom of expression that, in his view, are currently too strong.
Among Musk's most highly anticipated decisions is whether he will restore Donald Trump's account, as he has suggested could happen.
The former president and incessant tweeter was permanently suspended from the platform last year after the attack on the US Capitol by his supporters.
"I am very happy that Twitter is now in sane hands, and will no longer be run by Radical Left Lunatics and Maniacs that truly hate our country," Trump wrote on the social media platform he co-founded, Truth Social, on Friday.
Critics are concerned that the change in ownership will result in less moderated content on the network and thus encourage hate speech, something which may scare away advertisers.
Advertising revenue accounts for practically all of Twitter's revenue.
In an open letter titled "Dear Twitter advertisers," Musk wrote on Thursday that "Twitter obviously cannot become a free-for-all hellscape, where anything can be said with no consequences," however, as he wants it to be "warm and welcoming to all."
The European Union put Musk on notice that it must abide by its rules if it wants to continue to have a presence in the bloc.
"In Europe, the bird will fly by our [EU] rules," European Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton wrote on Twitter.
Breton added "#DSA" to his message referring to the bloc's Digital Services Act, a recent landmark regulation which spells out the responsibilities for technology and internet companies.
The law means companies will have to moderate their platforms for harmful content like disinformation and introduce protocols to block the spread of dangerous material during crises like the Covid-19 pandemic. Companies must also increase transparency regarding interactions with users and simplify user agreements.
Musk initially agreed to purchase Twitter in April. Later in July, he said the agreement was invalid due to the company's alleged misrepresentations about fake accounts.
Twitter sued to enforce the purchase agreement and a court case was scheduled to resolve the dispute. But at the beginning of October, and amid the messy legal fight, Musk renewed his purchase offer.
Musk now refers to himself as "Chief Twit" on his Twitter profile.
On Wednesday, he showed up at the company's headquarters in San Francisco. According to US media, he plans to introduce himself to the employees on a larger scale on Friday.
