Leftists went into meltdown mode Thursday night after news broke that Elon Musk had officially taken over the platform and fired the company’s top executives.
Musk reportedly directed engineers from his electric car company Tesla, where he also serves as CEO, to take control of the social media company’s code away from Twitter’s engineers to evaluate potential changes to the system.
Musk also immediately fired leftist CEO Parag Agrawal, CFO Ned Segal, and Vijaya Gadde, head of legal policy, trust, and safety, The Washington Post reported. The report said Musk also fired the company’s general counsel, Sean Edgett, who was escorted out of the building.
The moves by Musk triggered a torrent of negative, whiny tweets from leftists on the platform, who panicked over the political Left losing control of the platform.
“People do not realize how much @vijaya did for free speech,” Techdirt writer and editor Mike Masnick claimed. “Twitter is less of a free speech platform without her.”
“I don’t think any of us are prepared for how quickly this whole site is about to go down,” Uproxx writer Mike Redmond claimed. “It’s a miracle flames aren’t shooting out of it already.”
NBC reporter Ben Collins, who often advocates for censorship, tweeted: “I would be so happy if I’m wrong. But the [sic] all the red lights are flashing here.”
Controversial tech columnist Taylor Lorenz tweeted, “It’s like the gates of hell opened on this site tonight.”
“The sun is dark,” leftist professor Jeff Jarvis tweeted. “This is an emergency! Twitter is to be taken over by the evil Sith lord.”
Bloomberg News reported that Musk plans to get rid of permanent bans of users on the platform “because he doesn’t believe in lifelong prohibitions,” which means that some of the people previously banned on the platform “may be allowed to return.” Musk has previously indicated that he would not allow people who violate laws on the platform.
Business Insider reported that Musk’s acquisition of the company was finalized Thursday evening as the company’s stock was purchased for $54.20 per share in a deal worth $44 billion.
The news comes as Musk visited the company’s San Francisco headquarters this week, bringing a sink with him the first day.
“Entering Twitter HQ – let that sink in!” Musk tweeted.
Musk changed his Twitter bio to “Chief Twit” and changed his location to “Twitter HQ.”
Entering Twitter HQ – let that sink in! pic.twitter.com/D68z4K2wq7
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 26, 2022
In his first tweet after taking over the company, Musk wrote: “The bird is freed.”
the bird is freed
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 28, 2022
Musk released a statement earlier on Thursday to advertisers explaining why he wanted to buy Twitter and ensuring them that they do not have to worry about Twitter becoming a “free-for-all hellscape.”
“I wanted to reach out personally to share my motivation in acquiring Twitter,” Musk wrote. “There has been much speculation about why I bought Twitter and what I think about advertising. Most of it has been wrong.”
“The reason I acquired Twitter is because it is important to the future of civilization to have a common digital town square, where a wide range of beliefs can be debated in a healthy manner, without resorting to violence,” Musk continued. “There is currently great danger that social media will splinter into far right wing and far left wing echo chambers that generate more hate and divide our society.”
“In the relentless pursuit of clicks, much of traditional media has fueled and catered to those polarized extremes, as they believe that is what brings in the money, but, in doing so, the opportunity for dialogue is lost,” Musk continued. “That is why I bought Twitter. I didn’t do it because it would be easy. I didn’t do it to make more money. I did it to try to help humanity, whom I love. And I do so with humility, recognizing that failure in pursuing this goal, despite our best efforts, is a very real possibility.”
“That said, Twitter obviously cannot become a free-for-all hellscape, where anything can be said with no consequences!” Musk concluded. “In addition to adhering to the laws of the land, our platform must be warm and welcoming to all, where you can choose your desired experience according to your preferences, just as you can choose, for example, to see movies or play video games ranging from all ages to mature.”