It’s not over until the blue bird sings, but it looks like Elon Musk is ready to give the app a new song.
Twitter’s board has accepted Elon Musk’s 44 billion dollar offer to buy the social media giant.
The purchase brings an end to negotiations and talks that started on April 4 when Musk announced he had become the tech company’s biggest shareholder.
Twitter’s board met on Monday ahead of the announcement, to discuss Musk’s proposal after shareholders warmed to the idea of a takeover.
Initially met with resistance from some of the company’s largest stakeholders, Reuters reported earlier that Musk swayed investors who previously opposed the acquisition with his proposal on Monday.
Bret Taylor, Twitter’s Independent Board Chair, said in a statement on Monday, “The Twitter Board conducted a thoughtful and comprehensive process to assess Elon’s proposal with a deliberate focus on value, certainty, and financing. The proposed transaction will deliver a substantial cash premium, and we believe it is the best path forward for Twitter’s stockholders.”
The New York Post reported that at $44 billion, Musk is paying more than 175 times as much for Twitter as Amazon founder Jeff Bezos paid for the Washington Post in 2013.
Musk who is the CEO of electric vehicle manufacturer and clean energy company Tesla said he plans to make Twitter private and restore the platform’s adherence to free speech.
In a statement posted to his Twitter account a few moments after the acquisition Musk wrote “Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated,”.
However not everyone is thrilled about the SpaceX CEO acquiring Twitter. Some are concerned that his purchase signals the presage of the end of the tech company’s attempts to police hate-speech, trolling and doxing that has long infested the service.
“Elon Musk is the same man who came at Bernie Sanders by calling him old and saying he forgot Bernie was alive, because Bernie was fighting for the rich to be taxed. We’re just going to get a bunch of elitists spewing their hateful rhetoric. I can already see Trump getting his new handle ready,” said Shaiana Nunez
Other users like Cesar Batista say Musk’s purchase of the social media company won’t stop him from using the service. “I go on twitter for entertainment, anything else I tune out. So, whomever owns it, whether it’s public or private has no effect on me,” Batista said.
Twitter the company that launched a million tweets in 2006 with its singular blue bird logo now might have a new song to sing with Mr. Musk at the helm. What’s left to see is if users will want to keep on singing in 280 characters or less.
