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Elon Musk has formally completed his US$44 billion (S$62 billion) acquisition of Twitter and immediately fired multiple top executives including CEO Parag Agrawal.

Reuters reported that Musk terminated Agrawal, chief financial officer Ned Segal and legal affairs and policy chief Vijaya Gadde upon the deal's close, citing unnamed sources.

Agrawal and Segal were in Twitter's headquarters when the acquisition closed and they were escorted out, Reuters also reported.

The firing of general counsel Sean Edgett was reported by The New York Times and Washington Post.

Musk had previously accused the company's leadership team of misleading him over the number of spam accounts on the platform.

A Delaware judge had threatened to schedule a trial if no agreement was reached to finalise the purchase before a Oct. 28 deadline.

Addressed advertisers

Musk wrote in a Twitter post addressing advertisers that he was buying the company to help humanity and did not want it to become a "free-for-all hellscape".

"The reason I acquired Twitter is 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, without resorting to violence," he wrote in an unusually long tweet.

The fear has been that Musk's purchase of the social media platform will open it up to more online toxicity and drive away users.

Musk told advertisers Twitter should be "warm and welcoming to all".

Dear Twitter Advertisers pic.twitter.com/GMwHmInPAS

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 27, 2022

This was what he wrote:

I wanted to reach out personally to share my motivation in acquiring Twitter. There has been much speculation about why I bought Twitter and what I think about advertising. Most of it has been wrong.

The reason I acquired Twitter is 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, without resorting to violence. There is currently great danger that social media will splinter into far right wing and far left wing echo chambers that generate more hate and divide our society.

In the relentless pursuit of clicks, much of traditional media has fueled and catered to those polarized extremes, as they believe that is what brings in the money, but, in doing so, the opportunity for dialogue is lost.

That is why I bought Twitter. I didn't do it to make more money. I did it to try to help humanity, whom I love. And I do so with humility, recognizing that failure in pursuing this goal, despite our best efforts, is a very real possibility.

That said, Twitter obviously cannot become a free-for-all hellscape, where anything can be said with no consequences! In addition to adhering to the laws of the land, our platform must be warm and welcoming to all, where you can choose your desired experience according to your preferences, just as you can choose, for example, to see movies or play video games ranging from all ages to mature.

I also very much believe that advertising, when done right, can delight, entertain and inform you; it can show you a service or product or medical treatment that you never knew existed, but is right for you. For this to be true, it is essential to show Twitter users advertising that is as relevant as possible to their needs. Low relevancy ads are spam, but highly relevant ads are actually content!

Fundamentally, Twitter aspires to be the most respected advertising platform in the world that strengthens your brand and grows you enterprise. To everyone who has partnered with us, I thank you. Let us build something extraordinary together.

Top photo via TED