Elon Musk has cemented his control of Twitter by dissolving the company’s board of directors and becoming the sole director, it has been reported.
The shock move was revealed in US Securities and Exchange Commission filings following the “consummation” of Mr Musk’s multibillion-dollar takeover.
The nine ousted directors include former chairman of the board Bret Taylor and former chief executive Parag Agrawal.
It comes as rumours are swirling about where Musk, who only acquired Twitter days ago, will take the platform.
Rumour has it, people with verified accounts may have to pay to keep the blue tick.
The Verge reported the fee could be as high as $US19.99 ($31) a month.
Twitter already has a subscription option, Twitter Blue, where users pay $4.99 ($7.80) a month for premium features.
Not much has changed about Twitter, yet, but it is apparent Mr Musk has big plans for the platform.
The billionaire, who has referred to himself as “Chief Twit”, previously said buying Twitter was an “accelerant” for creating “X”.
X, the so-called, yet to come into fruition, “everything app”, which might be inspired by China’s WeChat, could combine literally everything on the one platform.
WeChat, for example, isn’t just for instant messaging. People use it for voice and video messaging, sharing photographs, paying bills and food delivery services.
Earlier in October, Mr Musk said buying Twitter would accelerate X by three to five years, though he admitted he could be wrong.
Tweet from @elonmusk
Mr Musk also confirmed the company would create a council to moderate what content was being shared on the platform.
Structural changes were made following the $44 billion ($69 billion) acquisition.
Twitter chief executive Parag Agrawal, chief financial officer Ned Segal and legal affairs and policy chief Vijaya Gadde were among the first to go.
Mr Musk accused them of misleading him and investors over fake accounts on the platform.
Twitter’s limits put to the test
Mr Musk promised Twitter would not turn into a “free-for-all hellscape”, though all hell broke loose after he took over the social media platform.
The Network Contagion Research Institute suggested “bad actors” were testing the limits of Twitter after Mr Musk’s takeover.
On Twitter, NCRI said there were posts on 4chan that encouraged people to amplify derogatory slurs on Twitter.
“For example, over the last 12 hours, the use of the n-word has increased nearly 500 per cent from the previous average,” NCRI said.
Tweet from @ncri_io
Yoel Roth, Twitter’s head of safety and integrity, said the social media company’s policies had not changed.
“Hateful conduct has no place here. And we’re taking steps to put a stop to an organised effort to make people think we have,” he said.
In just 48 hours, more than 50,000 tweets used the same slur – but those posts came from just 300 accounts, Mr Roth said, adding most of those accounts were “inauthentic”.
Mr Musk, a self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist”, said Twitter will be forming a content moderation council.
The council will be made of a group with “widely diverse viewpoints” and no “major content decisions or account reinstatements” will be made until the council has met.
Trump praises Elon Musk’s takeover
Among those who are pleased with Twitter’s new ownership is Donald Trump, who was famously banned from the platform in 2021, following the insurrection at the US Capitol.
Taking to his own social media platform, Truth Social, the former president said: “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.”
Presumably, the content moderation council would weigh in on Mr Trump’s ban.
Before acquiring Twitter, Mr Musk said he would reverse Mr Trump’s ban from the platform.
At a conference earlier this year, Mr Musk said permanent bans should be rare and should be reserved for bots and spam accounts.
Elon Musk fires off conspiracy tweet
Just days after acquiring Twitter, Mr Musk fired off a tweet linking to a story that promoted an unfounded conspiracy theory about the attack of Nancy Pelosi’s husband.
Early on Friday morning, David DePape, 42, stormed the home of Paul and Nancy Pelosi and confronted the husband of the House Speaker.
DePape was taken into custody on suspicion of attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse and other felonies.
Threats to public officials are at an all-time high, the Associated Press reported.
The attack comes just weeks out from the November 8 midterm elections when Americans will vote on who controls the House of Representatives and Senate.
Since his arrest, it has been revealed DePape allegedly spread far-right and QAnon conspiracies online.
This prompted Hillary Clinton to condemn the Republican Party and for Mr Musk to tweet his now-deleted post.
“The Republican Party and its mouthpieces now regularly spread hate and deranged conspiracy theories,” Ms Clinton said on Twitter, sharing an article from the Los Angeles Times.
“It is shocking, but not surprising, that violence is the result. As citizens, we must hold them accountable for their words and the actions that follow.”
In reply Mr Musk, sharing an article from the Santa Monica Observer, said: “There is a tiny possibility there might be more to this story than meets the eye.”
Media Bias/Fact Check labelled it an “imposter” site, that tries to disguise itself as a local news source. It leans right and favours the Republican Party.
Mr Musk shared a screenshot of a New York Times article, which featured the headline “Elon Musk in a Tweet, shares link from site known to publish false news”.
“This is fake – I did *not* tweet out a link to The New York Times,” he said.
Tweet from @elonmusk
Mr Musk’s reference is not clear: It was perhaps in reference to The Times‘ article over the weekend that claimed he had ordered job cuts across the company.
He previously said the reporting was “fake”.
It does not appear as though Mr Musk has said anything about sharing the Santa Monica Observer article.
