Two people familiar with the deal said Thursday night that Musk had taken control of the company.
The people aren't saying if the deal has closed or if all the paperwork has been signed. They said Musk has fired the CEO, CFO and Chief Legal Counsel of the social media platform. Both people wanted to remain anonymous because of the sensitive nature of the deal.
The bird has been freed a few hours later.
Just hours before the deadline, the departures came. If there wasn't an agreement, she was going to schedule a trial.
Although they came quickly, the major personnel moves had been expected and will be the first of many changes the CEO will make.
According to text messages revealed in court, Musk clashed with the company's CEO immediately before making a bid.
He criticized the company's top lawyer on the social networking site. He was followed by a wave of harassment on his account. The harassment included racist and misogynistic attacks, as well as calls for Musk to fire her. The harassment continued after she was fired.
Changes will be made to increase the number of subscribers and revenue.
In his first big move earlier on Thursday, Musk tried to soothe wary advertisers saying that he is buying the platform to help humanity and doesn't want it to become a "free for all hellscape."
The message appeared to be intended to address the concerns of advertisers that Musk's plans to promote free speech by cutting back on moderation will open the door to more online toxicity and drive away users.
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, Musk wrote in a long message.
There is a danger that social media will fragment into far right wing and far left wing echo chambers that will cause more hate and divide our society.
Musk has previously expressed distaste for advertising and has suggested more emphasis on other business models such as paid subscriptions that won't allow big corporations to dictate policy on how social media works. He told advertisers on Thursday that he wanted them to be the most respected advertisers in the world.
Pinar Yildirim, associate professor of marketing at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, said that the note is a shift from Musk's position.
She said that it is a realization that having no moderation is bad for business.
Yildirim said that consumers should not be bombarded with things they do not want to hear about.
Musk wants users to be able to choose the experience they want to have on the platform.
The Delaware Chancery Court ordered the closing of the deal to take place on Friday. It is the latest step in a battle that began in April when Musk signed a deal to acquire Twitter, then tried to back out after being sued by the company. A judge could force Musk to complete the deal if the two sides don't meet Friday's deadline.
Musk has been saying that the deal is happening. He strolled into the company's San Francisco headquarters on Wednesday carrying a porcelain sink, changed his profile on the social networking site to "chief twit", and then sent a message saying "Let that sink in!"
The New York Stock Exchange notified investors that it will stop trading in the shares of the company before the opening bell on Friday because of Musk's intentions to take the company private.
If the deal is finalized, Musk will speak to the employees directly, according to an internal memo. Despite internal confusion and low morale tied to fears of layoffs or a dismantling of the company's culture and operations, the leadership of the company has at least welcomed Musk's arrival and messaging.
Sarah Personette, the company's chief customer officer, appeared to endorse Musk's message to advertisers after she had a "great discussion" with him.
Personette said that their commitment to brand safety for advertisers remained the same. I'm looking forward to the future.
Musk had previously suggested that the building should be turned into a homeless shelter because so few employees actually worked there.
The Washington Post reported last week that Musk told prospective investors that when he becomes owner of the company, he will cut three quarters of the work force. The newspaper reported on documents and sources.
Musk has spent a lot of time deriding and making conflicting statements about how to fix the problems of the company. He doesn't have a lot of information about his plans for social media.
Thursday's note to advertisers shows a new emphasis on advertising revenue, especially a need for Twitter to provide more "relevant ads", which typically means targeted ads that rely on collecting and analyzing users' personal information
Yildirim said that, unlike Facebook, it has not been good at targeting advertising. She said that Musk's message suggested he wanted to fix that.
Insider Intelligence principal analyst Jasmine Enberg said that Musk has good reason to avoid a massive shakeup of the ad business because of the weak economy and months of uncertainty surrounding Musk's proposed takeover.
Enberg said that loosened content moderation on the platform is sure to scare advertisers, many of whom are already unhappy with the lack of brand safety tools on the platform.
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