Elon Musk’s Twitter Takeover: A Timeline Of Events

Elon Musk became the owner and CEO of Twitter on October 27, 2022, after acquiring the social media company for $44 billion.

What follows is a timeline of events leading up to Musk’s acquisition of Twitter and the changes implemented under his leadership.

March 25, 2022

Musk begins openly criticizing Twitter, polling his followers on whether they believe the company adheres to the principle of free speech.

April 4, 2022

A securities filing reveals Musk is Twitter’s largest shareholder, with a 9% stake in the company.

Musk is invited to join Twitter’s board of directors.

Musk tweeted:

April 10, 2022

Former Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal announces Musk declines the invitation to join Twitter’s board of directors.

April 14, 2022

Musk makes an offer to purchase Twitter for $43 billion, or $54.20 per share, and take the company private.

Musk tweets:

April 25, 2022

A filing with the United States Security and Exchange Commission reveals Twitter’s board publicly and unanimously accepted Musk’s buyout offer.

Musk tweets:

May 13, 2022

Musk puts the buyout deal on hold following reports that 5% of Twitter’s daily active users are spam accounts.

Musk tweets:

June 6, 2022

In a letter from Musk’s attorney sent to Twitter, Musk threatens to terminate his agreement. Musk alleges Twitter is refusing to comply with requests for data on the number of spam accounts.

June 8, 2022

Twitter’s board complies with Musk’s demands, agreeing to provide him with a “firehose” data stream of tweets.

This was first reported by The Washington Post.

July 8, 2022

Musk announces his intention to terminate the Twitter acquisition, claiming in a filing with the SEC that Twitter still refuses to comply with requests for data on bot accounts.

Twitter’s chairman, Bret Taylor, says that the board plans to pursue legal action to enforce the agreement.

July 12, 2022

Twitter formally launches a lawsuit against Musk in response to his backing out of the acquisition.

Musk tweets:

August 6, 2022

Musk challenges former Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal to a public debate about spam accounts and polls followers on whether they believe less than 5% of Twitter’s daily active users are fake.

October 4, 2022

Musk submits a proposal to move forward with the acquisition at the originally agreed-upon price of $44 billion ($54.20 per share) on the condition that Twitter drops its lawsuit.

In a tweet, Musk said acquiring Twitter is part of a larger goal to create an “everything” app called “X”:

October 20, 2022

According to a report in The Washington Post, Musk is telling investors he plans to terminate nearly 75% of Twitter’s staff.

October 26, 2022

Musk tweets a video of him carrying a kitchen sink into Twitter headquarters and changes his Twitter bio to “Chief Twit,” signaling the buyout is near completion.

Musk reportedly tells Twitter employees during his visit that layoffs will happen, though not at the previously reported scale.

October 27, 2022

Musk and Twitter close the deal, making Musk the new owner. Musk immediately fires Agrawal, chief financial officer (CFO) Ned Segal, Gadde, and general counsel Sean Edgett.

Musk tweetd:

October 30, 2022

Musk reveals plans to revamp Twitter’s verification system, tweeting:

A report begins to surface that Musk is considering charging users to pay to remain verified.

A separate report says Musk plans to offer verification checkmarks through Twitter Blue and increase the price to $19.99 per month.

November 1, 2022

In an exchange on Twitter with Stephen King, Musk confirms plans to charge for verification, though at a reduced price of $8 per month.

In a follow-up tweet, Musk adds:

“I will explain the rationale in longer form before this is implemented. It is the only way to defeat the bots & trolls.”

Musk reportedly orders Twitter staff to work 12-hour shifts to accomplish his goal of launching the new verification system within a week.

November 4, 2022

Musk lays off half of Twitter employees as part of an alleged cost-cutting measure.

On Twitter, Musk says the layoffs are due to a massive drop in company revenue:

Regarding the layoffs, Musk claims he has no choice:

November 9, 2022

Twitter launches a new verification system, with all users receiving a blue checkmark by purchasing Twitter Blue.

November 10, 2022

In Musk’s first address to Twitter staff since taking ownership of the company, he warns about a dire finical situation.

Musk reportedly believes Twitter doesn’t have the cash flow to survive, mentioning that bankruptcy is possible.

November 11, 2022

Musk pauses Twitter Blue subscriptions due to accounts abusing the verification checkmark by impersonating brands and public figures.

Musk tweets:

Additionally, more top executives resign from their position at Twitter.

November 12, 2022

Under Musk’s leadership, Twitter fires an estimated 80% of contract employees without formal notice.

November 14, 2022

Musk announces Twitter is turning off microservices “bloatware,” which he claims isn’t necessary for the site to work:

Experts warn of a potential Twitter outage due to turning off microservices and advise backing up personal data.

November 15, 2022

Musk fires employees for expressing negative opinions about him in a private Slack channel.

Yao Yue, the former Principal Software Engineer at Twitter, tweets:

The legal battle between Twitter and Musk ends as the judge dismisses the lawsuit.

Musk announces a new “Blue Verified” program will launch on November 29:

November 16, 2022

Musk issues an ultimatum to Twitter staff, asking them to commit to “hardcore” working conditions or get let go with three months severence pay.

November 17, 2022

A majority of Twitter employees reportedly reject Musk’s ultimatum, opting to leave the company. Musk seemingly expresses his thoughts about the exodus in this tweet:

November 18, 2022

The deadline for Twitter employees to accept Musk’s ultimatum passes; many decide to leave.

Twitter publishes a policy change, stating accounts less than 90 days old can’t sign up for Twitter Blue.

Musk publishes a poll asking whether he should reinstate the account of former United States President Donald Trump.

November 19, 2022

Musk reinstates Trump’s Twitter account.

November 21, 2022

Musk holds off the relaunch of Blue Verified until the company figures out a way to stop impersonations:

November 22, 2022

Musk brings on prolific hacker George Hotz as an intern tasked with fixing Twitter’s search engine.

November 23, 2022

Musk proposes offering a general amnesty to suspended Twitter accounts.

November 24, 2022

Musk announces general amnesty for suspended Twitter accounts begins next week.

November 25, 2022

Musk makes headlines saying he will invent an alternative phone if Apple and Google remove Twitter from their app stores.

Twitter’s new verification system is slated to launch next week.

November 27, 2022

Musk shares slides from a company talk where he presents his vision for “Twitter 2.0.

November 28, 2022

Musk claims Apple is threatening to remove Twitter from the iOS App Store.

Additionally, Musk adds that Apple is significantly reducing its ad spend on Twitter.

November 29, 2022

Twitter updates its website to note it’s no longer enforcing its COVID-19 misinformation policy.

November 30, 2022

Musk visits Apple HQ and resolves a misunderstanding with CEO Tim Cook. Apple had no intention to remove Twitter from the App Store.

December 1, 2022

Musk says Twitter will start showing view counts for all Tweets.

December 2, 2022

Musk promotes the release of the “Twitter Files.”

December 8, 2022

Musk promotes the release of part two of the “Twitter Files.”

Musk says Twitter is working on a feature that will alert users if they’re shadowbanned.

December 9, 2022

Musk announces plans to free up inactive accounts, making their usernames available for others to register.

December 12, 2022

Twitter relaunches Blue Verified.

December 14, 2022

Musk suspends the Twitter account tracking his private jet.

Musk introduces a new policy prohibiting posting someone’s real-time location details.

Twitter shuts down newsletter platform Revue.

 

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