Everything You Need to Know about Elon Musk's $44bn Twitter acquisition

[plat]

Twitter is planning to start charging soon for verification

“The whole verification process is being revamped right now,” Musk tweeted.

www.theverge.com

The directive is to change Twitter Blue, the company’s optional, $4.99 a month subscription that unlocks additional features, into a more expensive subscription that also verifies users, according to people familiar with the matter and internal correspondence seen by The Verge. Twitter is planning to charge $19.99 for the new Twitter Blue subscription, though that price is subject to change. Employees working on the project were told on Sunday that they need to meet a deadline of November 7th to launch the feature or they will be fired.

 

[blackice]

Twitter is planning to start charging soon for verification

“The whole verification process is being revamped right now,” Musk tweeted.

www.theverge.com

Good grief “they need to meet a deadline of November 7th to launch the feature or they will be fired.” The American dream…give me a break.

 

[oldschool]

Good grief “they need to meet a deadline of November 7th to launch the feature or they will be fired.” The American dream…give me a break.

Tesla/Musk is notorious for its labor practices so this is by no means a surprise. And then there is this:

Elon Musk wastes no time changing Twitter

“That’s definitely one way to make it clear you’re in charge now.”

www.theverge.com

Musk’s first order of business has been figuring out who he wants to keep in Twitter’s engineering organization. On Friday, engineers were asked to print out their recent code contributions from the last 30 to 60 days and bring them to be reviewed by Musk and Tesla engineers. They were then quickly told to shred their print outs and show the code on their computers instead, as first reported by Platformer’s Casey Newton. Some engineers have been glued to a Twitter account that tracks the whereabouts of Musk’s private jet, expecting him and the Tesla engineers to visit the company’s New York City office on Monday to continue code reviews.
Managers have been told that the purpose of the reviews is for Musk to see who can work at the speed and efficiency he demands, and that he wants to weed out engineering managers who do not regularly write code. “Managers in software must write great software or it’s like being a cavalry captain who can’t ride a horse!” he tweeted in May.

This is vintage Musk.

All of which is just show, or frosting on the cake, and is what happens when you're an over-leveraged owner.

Also, this humble proposal

 

[blackice]

Tesla/Musk is notorious for its labor practices so this is by no means a surprise. And then there is this:

Elon Musk wastes no time changing Twitter

“That’s definitely one way to make it clear you’re in charge now.”

www.theverge.com

This is vintage Musk.

All of which is just show, or frosting on the cake, and is what happens when you're an over-leveraged owner.

Also, this humble proposal

There isn’t a billionaire alive who wasn’t either lucky or a piece of human garbage. Generally it’s both. Nobody who micromanages like that is actually a good manager.

 

[ForgottenSeer 69673]

There isn’t a billionaire alive who wasn’t either lucky or a piece of human garbage. Generally it’s both. Nobody who micromanages like that is actually a good manager.

Explain good please.

 

[plat]

I bet many of you saw this coming already. Hmm, what's next?

Spoiler

In a nutshell: Elon got rid of the entire Twitter board, making himself the "sole director."

 

[ForgottenSeer 76546]

 

[blackice]

Explain good please.

Successful at both business dealing AND treating your employees as fellow human beings.

 

[blackice]

I would also note ruling by fear is a sign of weak intellect and lack of imagination. Morale matters as Putin has taught us.

 

[ForgottenSeer 69673]

I would also note ruling by fear is a sign of weak intellect and lack of imagination. Morale matters as Putin has taught us.

Yes, I understand them rich slave masters like King Solomon had no brains.

 

[simmerskool]

Another take on Musk's very bad, over-leveraged deal:

Please God, Let Elon Musk Kill Twitter

The world will be a better place.

thetriad.thebulwark.com

This will be sweet vengeance.

fwiw: I went to the bulwark (not from your link), began process to sign up for free (the triad) followed by tons of email trackers, like a DDoS attack on my inbox. could have been a fluke, I'm a tad obscure tonight. (I'm not familiar with The Bulwark)

 

[monkeylove]

Leaked Docs Reveal Shocking Extent Of DHS "Disinfo" Collusion With Twitter, Facebook | ZeroHedge

ZeroHedge - On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero

www.zerohedge.com

Referring to

Leaked Documents Outline DHS’s Plans to Police Disinformation

Under the guise of counterterrorism, the government is accelerating pressure on social media companies to crack down on speech the feds deem disinformation.

theintercept.com

 

[upnorth]

Due to Musk's views on free speech, EU regulators have already begun pressing Musk on this point, even before he tweeted the misinformation about the Pelosi attack. Reuters reported that last week, Musk promised the European Commission that Twitter would comply with the DSA. In the coming weeks, Musk will meet with EU industry chief Thierry Breton, seemingly to address Breton’s concerns over how Musk might be planning to change Twitter content moderation.

No one is sure how Musk's vision of Twitter will play out, but he'll likely continue to face pressure from advertisers, regulators, and Twitter users. At a time when Musk needs to squeeze profits from his Twitter acquisition—after already taking on $13 billion in debt—it seems less than ideal to also risk millions in DSA fines. But Musk also faces pressure from popular accounts that expect him to follow through on his promise to prioritize free speech on Twitter.

Musk jokes about his deleted tweet sharing misinformation on Pelosi attack

What happens when Twitter’s owner can’t spot disinformation when he sees it?

arstechnica.com

 

[vtqhtr413]

One of Elon Musk's first actions after purchasing Twitter for $44 billion was the firing of three prominent executives. CEO Parag Agrawal, CFO Ned Segal, and the company's legal head Vijaya Gadde were all shown the door a few days ago, but it wasn't all bad news for the former board members. In addition to the tens of millions they were set to receive for their substantial amounts of Twitter stock, all three executives had a "golden parachute" clause in place. The clause meant the three would each receive a share of $120 million. But as with everything else in the Elon Musk/Twitter saga, it's not as straightforward as that.

The golden parachute isn't the only money the executives received from the deal. During their time at Twitter, each board member accumulated a large amount of stock in the company. As was the case with every other shareholder, their stock was snapped up by Musk at a price of $54.20 per share when the deal was finalized. In toal, the three board members had around 1.2 million shares in the company, which, at the time of the takeover, were worth $65 million. Not every board member had an equal number of shares, as Vijaya Gadde had the most of the three, with her stock being valued at around $35 million.

Should the golden parachute ever get paid out, the three executives would again receive different amounts. Former CEO Parag Agrawal would be the big winner there, with his payout being somewhere in the region of $56 million. The clause also includes other perks, such as paying out an additional year's salary to each board member that was let go and extending their health benefits for a year as well.

No Golden Parachutes After All? Musk Reportedly Fired Twitter's Top Execs 'For Cause'

 

[blackice]

Yes, I understand them rich slave masters like King Solomon had no brains.

When you control the history books you can make yourself sound as wise as you’d like.

 

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

Elon Musk Details $8/Month Twitter Blue With More Features

Elon Musk, the new official CEO of Twitter has detailed how he plans to revamp the company’s Twitter Blue subscription. Musk previously said that he wanted Twitter’s verification badge to become a Twitter Blue perk and raise the subscription’s price from $4.99/month to $19.99 month, but the exec has apparently listened to the negative feedback from users.

In a series of tweets published earlier today, Musk said he wanted Twitter Blue to cost $8/month going forward. He also added that “Twitter’s current lords & peasants system for who has or doesn’t have a blue checkmark is bullshit.”

In addition to getting a verified badge, Musk wants to get Twitter Blue subscribers some new perks including priority in replies, mentions, and search, the ability to post longer video and audio clips, and a number of ads reduced by half. Musk also mentioned a “paywall bypass for publishers willing to work with us.”

According to Musk adding new perks to Twitter Blue while slightly raising its price will also “give Twitter a revenue stream to reward content creators.” This is something that platforms like YouTube and Twitch already do by allowing creators to monetize their content, though Musk has yet to share details about how that would work on Twitter.

Twitter Blue is still only available in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, and expanding the service to more markets is also something Musk will need to think about pretty quickly. Last but not least, it’s also not clear how allowing everyone to pay to get a verified badge will prevent people from impersonating others on Twitter.

Elon Musk Details $8/Month Twitter Blue With More Features

Elon Musk, the new official CEO of Twitter has detailed how he plans to revamp the company’s Twitter Blue subscription.

www.thurrott.com

 

[enaph]

Five Things Elon Musk Wants to Change About Twitter Right Away

He suggests the company was bloated, poorly run, unwelcoming to controversial speech and overrun with spam.

www.bloomberg.com

The world’s richest man has been reviewing the company’s code with help from Tesla Inc. engineers, while consulting with powerful friends he trusts to help him make important decisions about where to take the product.

 

[plat]

Referring to

Leaked Documents Outline DHS’s Plans to Police Disinformation

Under the guise of counterterrorism, the government is accelerating pressure on social media companies to crack down on speech the feds deem disinformation.

theintercept.com

This had an almost immediate ripple ripple effect, it seems. Very ooey-gooey this deal is turning out to be.

Spoiler

 

[oldschool]

This had an almost immediate ripple ripple effect, it seems. Very ooey-gooey this deal is turning out to be.

It's only just begun, my friend. Delete your account and enjoy the show!

 

[spiritedawaymadmax]

Elon Musk Details $8/Month Twitter Blue With More Features

Elon Musk Details $8/Month Twitter Blue With More Features

Elon Musk, the new official CEO of Twitter has detailed how he plans to revamp the company’s Twitter Blue subscription.

www.thurrott.com

I'm not sure where all this is going... Imposing a higher paywall for content creators while inciting them with new perks down the line for something they would've kept on doing either way, seems counter intuitive, doesn't it? How can this add to Twitter's overall "growth"? Or am I missing something?