New 'Chief Twit': 5 ways Twitter could change with Elon Musk's takeover

On Thursday, Musk closed the acquisition deal for $44 billion and reportedly fired its top executives, including chief executive Parag Agrawal and its head of legal policy Vijaya Gadde

Elon Musk, now the "Chief Twit", carried a sink to the headquarters of Twitter on Wednesday and quipped, "Let that sink in!". On Thursday, he closed the deal for $44 billion and reportedly fired its top executives, including chief executive Parag Agrawal and its head of legal policy Vijaya Gadde.

 

"the bird is freed," Musk tweeted on Thursday.

 

With the takeover, Twitter could see some big changes. With the removal of the top management on the very first day, the signs have become more telling. Musk has hinted several times in the past that he might transform the digital platform.

In April, when Musk initiated the takeover, he texted CEO Agrawal, "I have a ton of ideas", according to TIME.

What changes can be expected on Twitter?

The return of the Donald

Among the top priorities, Musk wants to preserve "free speech" on Twitter. Firing Vijaya Gadde, one of the leading proponents for removing Trump from the platform, is being seen as the first sign in the direction.

Trump was removed from the platform after January 6, 2021, attacks on Capitol Hill. Several other right-wing voices were barred from the platform for spreading misinformation and hateful theories.

Marjorie Taylor Greene was also removed from the platform after sharing misinformation about Covid-19 vaccines.

All these people may be back on Twitter. However, Trump has already launched his own social media platform, TRUTH Social.

The edit button may appear, finally

According to a poll conducted by Musk in March, 74 per cent of Twitter followers want an "edit" button. Twitter has already started testing the edit button, but it has yet to be rolled out in the USA and India.

Experts said that Musk might expedite the process.

Those spammy bots may get weeded out

Musk has been vocal about the widespread existence of bots on Twitter. In September, Musk said that 90 per cent of the comments he receives on his tweets are from bots. He even went after Agrawal, claiming that eight out of 10 Twitter accounts are fake.

In the coming days, he might act on fake accounts and bots. However, according to a Scottish digital academy, CodeClan, Musk could lose as much as 13.5 million followers by removing bots, as reported by TIME.

Please show me the money

Musk may also introduce new ways of earning money from Twitter.

In April, Bloomberg said that Musk told the banks that he planned to develop features to grow business revenue, including new ways to make money from tweets containing important information or going viral.

Ideas he brought up included charging a fee when a third-party website wants to quote or embed a tweet from verified individuals or organisations.

The exit door is ajar

With Musk's open criticism of Twitter and its management, the platform has been subject to a 'significant erosion of trust', Robert McCann, an adjunct professor at UCLA, told TIME.

This may impact employee morale and "spook advertisers". And with the overhaul on the very top, more employees may voluntarily quit the company after the takeover.