Elon Musk buys Twitter, immediately fires exec who banned Trump

Elon Musk is now in charge of Twitter after completing his $44 billion purchase of the company, according to reports Thursday evening.

The new owner exercised that power immediately by letting go of CEO Parag Agrawal and Ned Segal, its chief financial officer, according to an initial report by CNBC.

Shortly afterward, the Washington Post reported that Vijaya Gadde, head of legal policy, trust and safety, had also been let go.

As Twitter’s head of policy, Gadde was reportedly the driving force behind the 2020 decision to permanently suspend former President Donald Trump from the site over his actions during the January 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol.

His $44 billion acquisition of the social media platform caps off months of legal drama following the SpaceX CEO’s offer of $54.20 per share in April.

Banks financing the deal began to turn over money to fund the purchase after Musk sent them a “borrowing notice” on Tuesday, signaling his intent to move forward. Funding notices are typically sent three to five days in advance of when the money is needed.

The Tesla CEO had to close the deal by Friday or risk going back to court with Twitter.

Musk has promised to make substantial changes to the social media platform once he takes charge, including softening its stance on content moderation in the name of free speech, which has alarmed some existing employees and heavy users.

Agrawal is set to receive $42 million in severance pay, according to a Reuters. Social media users praised him for his financial savvy, considering he has served as chief executive for less than one year.

Musk plans to hold a company-wide town hall on Friday, according to reports.