Elon Musk takes control of Twitter, fires executives: US media

In a move that places one of the leading forums for international dialogue in the hands of the world's richest man, Elon Musk took control of Twitter and ousted its top executives, according to US media reports late Thursday.

According to unnamed sources cited by the Washington Post and CNBC, Musk fired the company's chief executive officer, Parag Agrawal, as well as its chief financial officer and head of legal policy, trust, and safety.

Agrawal went to court to hold the Tesla chief to the terms of a takeover deal he had tried to escape.

The revelations surfaced hours before Musk was supposed to finalize his on-again, off-again agreement to buy the social media network, according to a court-appointed deadline.

Musk tweeted on Thursday that he was buying Twitter "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."

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1585619322239561728

The multibillionaire even uploaded a photo of himself mingling at the Twitter offices' coffee shop.

Additionally, before Friday's session, the New York Stock Exchange announced a pending order to halt trading on Twitter