Elon Musk has been the head of Twitter for only 3 days, but the billionaire did not wait to take action and make the first changes on the social network. And precisely, what are the changes made by the new owner? We take stock together.
This October 28, 2022, after multiple twists and the threat of a legal showdown with an uncertain outcome for Elon Musk, the billionaire decided to keep his word. Indeed, the boss of Tesla has officially become the new owner of Twitter. Its initial offer of $54.20 per share, or a total cost of $44 billion, was accepted.
Moreover, Elon Musk staged his arrival in the offices of Twitter by landing with… a hand sink. A reference to a pun in one of his last tweets: “Entering Twitter HQ – let that sink in!” or in our language, “Arrived at Twitter headquarters – I’ll let you absorb the info”.
As you might expect, Elon Musk is not one to make a smooth transition. Only three days after his arrival, the boss of Tesla has already proceeded to several major changes in the functioning of the social network. In this article, we will take stock of the changes made by the new leader.
Here’s what changed at Twitter
Executives are invited to take the door
While rumors suggested that Elon Musk intended to lay off no less than 75% of Twitter employees, the new CEO said when he arrived at headquarters that these figures were not good. However, we now know that important executives of the blue bird were invited to take the door.
According to official documents framing Musk’s takeover, several senior Twitter executives were therefore fired and will receive in compensation severance pay and an automatic acceleration of their actions. This is for example the case of Parag Agrawalprevious CEO of the social network, which should pocket the tidy sum of 38.7 million dollars.
Ned Segalformer chief financial officer of the blue bird, is expected to receive $25.4 million while Vijaya Gadde, head of legal policy, trust and security, will walk away with $12.5 million. She was the one who made the decision to permanently ban Donald Trump from Twitter. Something that Elon Musk could remedy by the way. Finally, Sarah Personettedirector of clientele, must also give up her apron and will receive 11.2 million dollars.
A Council of moderation will be established
Although Twitter’s moderation policy has not yet changed, Elon Musk recently confirmed that a council responsible for making important decisions on the subject will be set up soon. According to a tweet from Musk, this advice will be composed “very diverse points of view, adding “that no major content or account reinstatement decisions will be made before the board meets”.
A little later, Elon Musk however clarified thatno changes to Twitter’s current moderation policies are planned. From what we know, however, the billionaire wants to put an end to permanent bans on the social network. In other words, we should see again soon certain personalities excluded on Twitter, like the former president of the United States Donald Trump in particular.
Regarding this council, we do not yet know the number of people who will sit on it, how they will be appointed or the difference between this council and the current content moderation teams and the policy that already exists within the company. . Anyway, this measure is not new. In some competitors, Meta in the lead, there is already a supervisory board responsible for deciding on moderation issues.
20 € per month to be certified
According to another report from our colleagues at The Verge, Elon Musk wants to make profound changes to Twitter Blue, the social network’s paid formula. A brand new subscription, including the price would be set at 19.99 dollars per month, could see the light of day.
Each user of this subscription will have their account certified, a privilege hitherto reserved only for certain people such as political figures, members of show business, official accounts of certain organizations or even journalists. specify that current holders of a certified account must imperatively subscribe within 90 days from November 7 (announced date of the launch of this formula) under penalty of losing their certification.
Towards a return of Vine?
The new owner of Twitter published a survey on the social network this Monday, October 31, 2022 which did not go unnoticed. The billionaire posed the following question to his 112 million followers: “Bring Vine back?”. This question, whether it’s a serious project or another Elon Musk whim, has attracted more than 3,700,000 voteswith a majority (almost 70%) motivated by the return of the video platform acquired by Twitter in 2013.
For now, it’s hard to know what Elon Musk really intends to do with Vine. The owner of the “Tesla Owners Silicon Valley” Twitter account reacted to the poll by saying that “the video platform is not a separate application”. In other words, let this Vine 2.0 be an integral part of Twitter. A remark validated 100% by Elon Musk, who rewarded him with a “100” emoji.
Technical teams are put to the test
According to The Verge, Elon Musk put the developers of the platform to the test this Friday. They were invited to print their recent Twitter code contributions from the last 30-60 days and provide them to Musk’s teams for review. Managers have been told that the new boss’s goal is to identify people who have been coding the most lately and who are able to work fast and well. “Software managers have to code great software, otherwise it’s like being a cavalry captain who can’t ride a horse.” Musk wrote on Twitter in May 2022.
Twitter’s homepage is getting a makeover
Another major change made by Elon Musk: that of the Twitter home page. The billionaire demanded that unregistered users are now redirected to the Explore page, which displays trending tweets and the latest news. Until then, the home page of Twitter, when one was disconnected in particular, offered only a registration form.
Elon Musk appeals to his entourage to lead Twitter
According to recent reports, Elon Musk relies on his inner circle to help him run the social network. Dozens of people from his family circle, other companies and close acquaintances have been added to Twitter’s employee list and given official email addresses from the social network. Among them are Alex Spiro, Musk’s personal lawyer who has become the de facto official legal representative of Twitter, Andrew Musk, a member of his family who works for Neuralink in particular, or even Jehn Balajadia, director of The Boring Company.
Jason Calacanis, a venture capitalist and longtime friend of Elon Musk, has also joined the venture, as have former Twitter product chief Sriram Krishnan and influential political donor David Sacks.