Elon Musk Chooses the Title Chief Twit instead of CEO, Dissolves the Board of Directors, and Lays Off 2,000 Employees

Dream - Elon Musk immediately took action to overhaul Twitter, which he bought for $44 billion or Rp638.5 trillion. The Tesla CEO is reported to have dissolved the entire Twitter board of directors.

Previously, Musk had fired top Twitter executives, including Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal, Board of Directors Chairman Bret Taylor, and Twitter CFO Ned Segal. Board members like Martha Lane Fox are also believed to be fired by Musk.

Regarding the news of Twitter employee layoffs, Musk had previously denied rumors of a 75 percent layoff. According to the latest report from The Washington Post, Musk will lay off 25 percent of Twitter employees.

If the current number of Twitter employees is calculated at 7,000, it means that 2,000 people will be at risk of layoffs.

The Washington Post also mentioned Alex Spiro, a lawyer who has represented Musk for several years in leading content moderation and spam management at Twitter. Spiro is said to be responsible for managing Twitter teams, including legal, government relations, policy, and marketing.

Longtime associates of Musk, such as David Sack and Jason Calanis, were also reportedly listed in the company directory last weekend based on photos obtained by The Washington Post. Both of them already have official company email addresses with the position of Staff Software Engineer.

Musk's position in the board of directors list is written as CEO, but the position has not been officially announced. He prefers to use the title Chief Twit.

Documents filed with the financial authorities earlier this week canceled the board of directors' proposal that would have put Twitter under Musk's sole control.

Shortly thereafter, official financial report documents revealed Musk's position at Twitter as CEO.

Former Founder Profits

However, behind the news of the dissolution of the board of directors, Twitter founder Jack Dorsey benefited from Musk's acquisition of Twitter. 

Dorsey, who left Twitter's board of directors in May 2022, supported Musk's purchase of the social media platform he founded.

According to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission report, Dorsey sold 18 million shares he owned in Twitter. With one share priced at US$54.20 or Rp848.3 thousand, Dorsey made a profit of US$978 million or Rp15.3 trillion from the sale of Twitter.

“Elon is the only solution I trust. I believe in his mission to expand the light of consciousness,” said Dorsey, as quoted by the BBC on Wednesday, November 2, 2022.

Get Ready! Twitter Blue Checkmark Owners Charged Rp311 Thousand/Month Subscription Fee

Dream - Twitter immediately made changes after the entry of heavyweight investor Elon Musk, who bought Twitter for $44 billion. After the internal shakeup with the layoff rumors, now external parties of Twitter, especially users, will also be affected. 

Elon Musk is reportedly going to implement new policies for users of the famous social media platform, especially those who already have or want to obtain the blue checkmark.

This news comes from a report by The Verge which mentions that Elon Musk will introduce a policy to charge fees for blue checkmark accounts or verified accounts.

To be able to enjoy the verified user status, Twitter is reported to charge a monthly subscription fee of $19.99 or equivalent to Rp311,845. This fee must be paid regularly to maintain their blue checkmark.

Verified accounts will be given 90 days to comply with the new provisions. If the deadline is missed, the blue checkmark on the account will automatically be lost and it will become a regular account.

Elon Musk emphasized that his employees are currently handling this system before November 7, 2022. (Sah)