"the bird is freed," Musk tweeted Oct. 27.

Once the caller absorption became a reality, immoderate celebrated names, including Debra Messing, Shonda Rhimes and Sara Bareilles pointedly announced that they were done with the platform. 

"Not hanging astir for immoderate Elon has planned," Rhimes tweeted Oct. 29. "Bye." The prolific TV producer's relationship is inactive live, though. Messing, earlier deactivating entirely, wrote, "YUP. Goodbye Twitter. Instagram I'm each in."

Twitter

Maja Hitij/Getty Images

The pursuing day, Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal tweeted that Musk wasn't joining the committee aft all, but since helium had go the company's largest shareholder, they'd "remain unfastened to his input."

Finally, an April 14 SEC filing revealed that Musk had offered to buy Twitter outright. In a missive to committee president Bret Taylor, Musk wrote that helium invested due to the fact that helium believed it could beryllium "the level for escaped code astir the globe." But, helium continued, "since making my concern I present recognize the institution volition neither thrive nor service this societal imperative successful its existent form. Twitter needs to beryllium transformed arsenic a backstage company."

"Twitter has bonzer potential," Musk concluded. "I volition unlock it."

Then, connected April 25, Twitter announced that Musk's connection to bargain the company for $44 cardinal had been accepted.

How did the woody for Elon Musk to bargain Twitter yet spell through?

That was lone the beginning, however, arsenic Musk then started to publically question whether Twitter had been transparent about just however galore fake accounts were populating the platform. On May 13, helium said the merchantability was "temporarily connected hold."

And by July 8, Musk said helium nary longer planned to bargain Twitter. Four days later, Twitter filed suit to propulsion the woody through. Musk countersued and a justice ruled that the 2 sides would spot each different successful court.

In September, Musk doubled down connected his presumption that Twitter was hiding thing after the company's former caput of information went nationalist with allegations that the institution was woefully lacking when it came to combating the dispersed of misinformation and rooting retired fake accounts. (The whistleblower, Peiter Zatko, testified earlier Congress successful September; a Twitter spokesperson disputed his testimony, calling it "riddled with inconsistencies and inaccuracies." The institution maintained it Zatko had been fired for mediocre show and an interior probe had recovered his allegations lacked merit.)

Matt Rourke/AP/Shutterstock

Twitter relationship of Elon Musk/AFP via Getty Image

Entering Twitter HQ – fto that descend in! pic.twitter.com/D68z4K2wq7

What happened connected Twitter close aft Elon Musk closed the deal?

According to the Network Contagion Research Institute, usage of the n-word connected Twitter surged by astir 500 percent successful the 12 hours aft Musk was announced arsenic the caller owner. On Oct. 28 the Washington Post reported that a tweet containing conscionable 1 word—a radical slur successful all-caps—that was posted the nighttime earlier was inactive up 16 hours aboriginal and had been liked much than 5,000 times. 

"I'm shocked and appalled astatine immoderate of the 'free speech' I've seen connected this level since its acquisition," Toni Braxton tweeted Oct. 28. "Hate code nether the veil of 'free speech' is unacceptable; truthful I americium choosing to enactment disconnected Twitter arsenic it is nary longer a harmless abstraction for myself, my sons and different POC."

LeBron James, who has 52.4 cardinal followers, weighed successful Oct. 29, tweeting, "I dont cognize Elon Musk and, tbh, I could attraction little who owns twitter. But I volition accidental that if this is true, I anticipation helium and his radical instrumentality this precise earnestly due to the fact that this is scary AF. So galore damn unfit radical saying hatred code is escaped speech."

I dont cognize Elon Musk and, tbh, I could attraction little who owns twitter. But I volition accidental that if this is true, I anticipation helium and his radical instrumentality this precise earnestly due to the fact that this is scary AF. So galore damn unfit radical saying hatred code is escaped speech. https://t.co/Sy0jvXIBnC

Even if you didn't spot 1 of these posts, you could stake that idiosyncratic you were pursuing had. (And immoderate admitted to searching for hateful content, suspecting it would beryllium there, successful bid to telephone it out.)

Yoel Roth, Twitter's Head of Safety and Integrity, tweeted Oct. 29, "Our Rules prohibit Hateful Conduct. This includes targeting radical with dehumanizing contented and slurs. This DOESN'T mean we person a database of words that are ever banned. Context matters. For example, our policies are written to support reclaimed speech."

He attributed the spike successful slurs and different hatred code to a concerted trolling effort, tweeting that much than 50,000 of the violative posts came from lone 300 accounts. "Nearly each of these accounts are inauthentic," Roth wrote. "We've taken enactment to prohibition the users progressive successful this trolling campaign—and are going to proceed moving to code this successful the days to travel to marque Twitter harmless and welcoming for everyone."

Musk besides tweeted, "Twitter volition beryllium forming a contented moderation assembly with wide divers viewpoints. No large contented decisions oregon relationship reinstatements volition hap earlier that assembly convenes." He added, "To beryllium ace clear, we person not yet made immoderate changes to Twitter's contented moderation policies."

What happened to Twitter employees aft Elon Musk took over?

Reminiscent of King Charles III's semipermanent plans for the royal family, Musk besides envisioned a slimmed-down Twitter, detailing successful a connection to prospective investors reported connected by the Washington Post that helium planned to downsize from 7,500 employees to a small implicit 2,000.

Upon accomplishment he fired Agrawal, the CEO, arsenic good as Chief Financial Officer Ned Segal and Chief Legal Counsel Vijaya Gadde. An Oct. 31 SEC filing showed that Musk had fired the committee of directors, making him the board's sole member. (Later that night, he showed up astatine Heidi Klum's yearly Halloween bash successful New York with his mom, model Maye Musk.)

And the wide layoffs got underway the nighttime of Nov. 3. According to NBC News, employees received an email informing them that they'd person different confirming whether oregon not they inactive worked there.

"We admit that this volition interaction a fig of individuals who person made invaluable contributions to Twitter, but this enactment is unluckily indispensable to guarantee the company's occurrence moving forward," the email read, per NBC.

The institution said the downsizing is "an effort to spot Twitter connected a steadfast path."

Why does Elon Musk privation Twitter users to wage for small bluish checkmarks?

The Verge reported Oct. 30 that Musk wanted to commencement charging for verification—aka the bluish checkmark you'll find connected astir accounts belonging to anyone of renown, including public figures and celebs, arsenic good as a big of businesses, journalists, activists, contented creators and others who went done the process of confirming their identifies with the institution and gave a crushed arsenic to wherefore they shouldn't beryllium mistaken for idiosyncratic else.

Currently you tin subscribe to Twitter Blue for $4.99 a period to entree assorted features. According to The Verge, Musk projected hiking the interest to $19.99 per month, and the complaint would see a bluish check. Staffers reportedly had until Nov. 7 to get the programme up and running—and existing verified users would person 90 days to motion up oregon suffer their checks.

"$20 a period to support my bluish check? F--k that, they should wage me," writer (and admittedly satisfied Tesla driver) Stephen King tweeted Oct. 31. "If that gets instituted, I'm gone similar Enron."

Musk tweeted back later that night, "We request to wage the bills somehow! Twitter cannot trust wholly connected advertisers. How astir $8?" He added, "I volition explicate the rationale successful longer signifier earlier this is implemented. It is the lone mode to decision the bots & trolls."

All sorts of sarcasm and outrage from some verified and unverified users ensued, joined by Musk supporters and assorted antagonists of blue-checkmarked Twitter who mocked the likes of King for refusing to wage a piddling interest for the privilege.

Is Elon Musk going to fto banned accounts backmost connected Twitter?

"If I had a dollar for each clip idiosyncratic asked maine if Trump is coming backmost connected this platform, Twitter would beryllium minting money!" Musk tweeted Oct. 31.

His dedicated critics were against the merchantability from the beginning, the presumption (later confirmed by Musk himself) that he'd reverse the 2021 ban connected erstwhile President Donald Trump serving arsenic their impervious that the Tesla CEO was unfit to tally this company.

But erstwhile it comes to the reinstatement of Trump's account, it turns retired folks are going to person to hold a spot longer for the large reveal.

"Twitter volition not let anyone who was de-platformed for violating Twitter rules backmost connected level until we person a wide process for doing so," Musk tweeted Nov. 2, "which volition instrumentality astatine slightest a fewer much weeks."

Trump, meanwhile, has started his ain societal media platform, Truth Social, and helium told Fox News in April that helium wasn't funny successful returning to Twitter adjacent if helium could. Upon quality of Musk's purchase, however, the erstwhile president did post connected his ain site Oct. 28 that helium was "very blessed that Twitter is present successful sane hands."

How galore radical person stopped utilizing Twitter since Elon Musk bought the company?

Bot Sentinel, which tracks inauthentic Twitter activity, estimated that the level mislaid much than 1 cardinal users betwixt Oct. 27 and Nov. 1, a operation of suspensions (497,000) and deactivations (877,000), according to MIT Technology Review.

The celebrity departure notices trailed disconnected aft a fewer days, though enactment tuned for what happens when/if the paid verification program goes into effect.

On Nov. 3, Musk's bio by past reading "Twitter Complaint Hotline Operator," helium summed up the authorities of contented affairs with a beauteous vintage-Musk tweet, sent astatine 1:13 a.m. PT: "Because it consists of billions of bidirectional interactions per day, Twitter tin beryllium thought of arsenic a collective, cybernetic super-intelligence..."

Ten minutes later: "...with a batch of country for improvement."