New questions about the fate of the social media platform's management structure, which was set for a shakeup had the CEO completed his acquisition, were raised by the revelation that he plans to walk away from his acquisition.
According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday, the founder of the companies said he would abandon the deal. One of the most powerful social platforms would have been led by the world's richest man.
There was a lot of speculation about the future of leadership at the company after the takeover bid was made. There were reports that Musk would be the company's interim CEO. If Musk walks away from the deal, he will face a lengthy legal battle.
Questions were raised about whether Musk would run another company. Musk, known for his visionary leadership and out-of-the-box thinking, tookTesla from a fringe brand to the world's most valuable car company and sent a four-person civilian crew into space.
The experts who spoke with Insider said it was difficult to predict Musk's moves. Levick said it was impossible to know what Musk would do next.
Levick's firm has representation of Musk's private spaceflight company.
He called at 6 or 7 o'clock at night and said he was going to Washington. Can we hold a press conference at 9 am tomorrow? Levick made a statement. "We pulled it off, and the press conference was a success, but I share that story because I think it's indicative of no one knowing what Musk is thinking."
Levick, a reputation-management consultant, and a CEO consultant were among the experts who spoke with Insider. They predicted that there would be changes and that a CEO swap was likely.
Musk has been open about his grievances with the company. Musk criticized two of the company's top executives on the platform in April.
The right-wing activist Mike Cernovich accused Jim Baker of committing fraud as a general counsel for the FBI after Musk affirmed that he had done so. After Musk described her decision to restrict a news story on the platform as "incredibly inappropriate," she faced online harassment as well.
The experts said that Musk's disagreements with executives were signs that the leadership would change under his watch.
The chair and CEO of Reputation Management Consultants said when the acquisition was still on track that there would be a cascade of carnage. Many executives who had a comfortable position will feel whiplash.
Early on, Musk made it clear that he intended to transform the site into a bastion of free speech. He said that by "free speech" he meant that which matches the law. I don't want censorship that goes beyond the law.
Some of the content it deems to be in violation of its terms has been removed. Donald Trump was removed from the platform after the insurrection. There is a chance that the outgoing president could cause more political violence.
Levick wondered if Musk would have been able to create the kind of free-speech rights he wanted for the world. He said that the First Amendment does not exist in China. Europeans regulate the internet in a way that Americans don't. The Digital Services Act was passed by the EU.
Going private would have allowed it to issue financial statements. It would have been easier to implement sweeping changes to the company's leadership and revenue model if they had not been bound by those restrictions.
Revenue for last year was $5 billion.
With some changes, Musk believes there could be a huge increase in revenues and profits. He doesn't make a move like this unless he sees financial upside.
Those who follow Musk's companies are often surprised by his decisions. It's difficult to understand what he's doing and his intentions. Tom Goodwin, a CEO consultant, said that it was wrong to assume that he would be involved in the day-to- day operations.
The platform introduced revenue-generating features such as its Blue subscription product and Ticketed Spaces, which allow creators to charge for exclusive access to their content, at a critical point as the CEO took the helm.
Musk posted a meme of Agrawal's head on the body of Joseph Stalin, the leader of the Soviet Union. Musk stated in an SEC filing that he did not have confidence in management. The removal of the current CEO would not have surprised experts.
After the announcement of Musk's acquisition, Agrawal told employees that the future of the company was uncertain.
It shouldn't have been seen as a result of incompetent leadership that Agrawal was expelled.
I don't see how he could have done better given the amount of tumult internally and globally during his short tenure. The platform is as important as ever.
Questions about Musk's approach to free speech and his ability to use the platform as his personal megaphone were posed by Musk's tendency towards brashness. It was anyone's guess what Musk would do next, according to the experts who spoke with Insider.
The article was first published in May.
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