Elon Musk has completed his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter

Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, has completed his $44 billion (£38.1 billion) buyout of Twitter, according to US media and one investor in the company.
In an apparent allusion to the deal’s completion, he tweeted “the bird is freed.” Several top executives, including the Chairman, Parag Agrawal, are said to have been fired.
It concludes a story in which Twitter went to court to hold the multibillionaire to the terms of a takeover transaction that he had attempted to avoid.
Twitter has not officially announced the acquisition, but one early investor in the startup informed the BBC that it was finalized.
Mr Musk, a self-described “free speech absolutist,” has been critical of Twitter’s moderation procedures, and the announcement has elicited conflicting reactions from Twitter users and workers.
Many on the right of US politics will rejoice at Mr Agrawal’s departure as CEO. They see Mr. Agrawal and his predecessor, Jack Dorsey, as leftists who limit free expression. They also believe that Twitter has blocked conservative viewpoints under their leadership, which Twitter denies.
According to the website of the New York Stock Exchange, the social media platform’s shares will be halted from trade on Friday. Mr Musk stated that he purchased the social media network to serve mankind and that he wished for “civilization to have a common digital town square. Earlier this week, Mr Musk posted a video of himself lugging a kitchen sink into Twitter’s offices in San Francisco, with the caption: “let that sink in!” He also altered his Twitter handle to “Chief Twit.”