Twitter: 2022 a roller coaster ride for the social media platform
Soon after his takeover, Elon Musk brought some radical changes to Twitter — the biggest one has been to make users pay to get verified. His decision to reinstate Donald Trump's Twitter account made global headlines. The other drastic step was to slash the workforce, asking thousands of employees to leave.
This year will be remembered as a year when Twitter saw a major shakeup and a change in ownership- it all began in March when the founder of SpaceX and Tesla revealed he owned 9.2 percent stake in the micro-blogging site.
This was followed by Elon Musk heavily criticising the social media platform on issues such as free speech and dormant or fake accounts.
His deep interest in bringing reforms at Twitter sparked speculations if he is planning to buy the platform.
The guesses turned true-— on April 14, Musk made an official offer to buy the microblogging site at $44 billion. But it wasn't that simple — the deal was mired in weeks of uncertainty. On July 8, Musk decided to back out of the deal claiming that Twitter is riddled with fake accounts.
Twitter's management retaliated and took Musk to the court for not abiding by his commitment. Finally, after weeks of legal battle, on October 6, Musk told the court he is willing to buy Twitter at $44 billion. The court ordered him to close the deal by October 28.
A day before that deadline, Twitter users saw visuals of Musk entering the Twitter head quarter holding a white sink in his hand.
Soon after the takeover, Musk brought some radical changes to the platform — the biggest one has been to make users pay to get verified. His decision to reinstate Donald Trump's Twitter account made global headlines. The other drastic step was to slash the workforce, asking thousands of employees to leave.
“Anyone who is exceptional at what they do, where the role is critical and they have a positive effect on others, and they are trusted, meaning they have put the company's interests before their own, should stay," Musk said.
In the backdrop of Twitter's two years of consecutive losses, Musk had warned employees of bankruptcy if revenues are not streamlined. But recently Musk sounded more confident about Twitter's financial status than before.
"Company is not on the fast lane to bankruptcy anymore," Musk said.
While the financials may be improving, Twitter as a platform has become more unpredictable for users. This has prompted advertisers to pull out. According to a report in Wall Street Journal, 70 percent of Twitter's top 100 advertisers did not spend on Twitter in December.
The takeover has also dented Musk's other businesses as well his personal wealth — shares of Tesla are down 60 percent since Musk announced his intention to buy Twitter. He has also sold $20 billion of Tesla shares and is no longer the world's richest man.
Musk offered to resign as the head of Twitter saying he would quit as soon as he finds someone foolish enough to take the job. So who will replace Musk and what will be the future of Twitter? 2023 could hold the answers.
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