Don't seek 'free-for-all hellscape' for Twitter, says Elon Musk

Elon Musk told Twitter advertisers he was buying the platform to “help humanity” and didn’t want it to become a “free-for-all hellscape” where anything can be said with no consequences.
 

The message to advertisers posted on  Thursday on Twitter came a day before Musk’s deadline for closing his $44-billion deal to buy the social-media company and take it private.
 

“The reason I acquired Twitter is because it is important to the future of civilisation to have a common digital town square, where a wide range of beliefs can be debated in a healthy manner, without resorting to violence,” Musk wrote, in an unusually-long message for the billionaire Tesla CEO who typically projects his thoughts in one-line tweets.
 

He also paid a visit to Twitter’s headquarters in San Francisco on Wednesday . “Entering Twitter HQ — let that sink in!” said the caption of a video that Musk tweeted in which he was walking into the Twitter office carrying a sink in his hands.
 

Hours earlier, he hinted at being the company’s top boss after updating his profile’s bio to “Chief Twit”.
 

Twitter confirmed Musk would visit the San Francisco office this week.
 

Banks have started to send $13 billion in cash backing Musk’s takeover of Twitter in a sign that the deal is on track to close by the end of the week, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Once final closing conditions are met, the funds will be made available for Musk to execute the transaction by the Friday deadline, the report added.
 

In the six months of a dramatic back-and-forth since Musk announced his $54.20 per share bid, Twitter initially resisted the deal by adopting a poison pill and later sued the world’s richest man after he announced plans to abandon the offer.

Earlier this month, Musk proposed to proceed with his original $44 billion bid, calling for an end to the lawsuit by Twitter.

The Tesla Inc CEO notified co-investors who committed to help fund the Twitter deal that he plans to close it by Friday, Reuters reported on Tuesday.
 

Equity investors including Sequoia Capital, Binance, Qatar Investment Authority and others have received the requisite paperwork for the financing commitment from Musk's lawyers, Reuters reported.
 

Twitter shares were up about 1.1% at $53.91 in extended trading, slightly below Musk's offer price.
 

Twitter shares to be suspended on NYSE

Twitter shares will be suspended from trading on Friday, the New York Stock Exchange’s website showed, as billionaire Elon Musk faces a court-ordered October 28 deadline to close his $44-billion deal to buy the social media company.

Twitter’s shares were up about 1 per cent at $53.92 in premarket trading, compared with Musk’s offer price of $54.20 per share.        Reuters