Musk may serve as Twitter CEO – media

Elon Musk is expected to serve as Twitter’s interim chief executive officer for a few months after he completes his $44 billion acquisition of the social media giant, CNBC reported on Thursday.

According to an SEC filing, also released on Thursday, Musk secured approximately $7.14 billion in equity commitments from friends and other investors to buy Twitter.

CNBC sources said the businessman handpicked the investors, ranging from $1 billion from Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison to $5 million from Honeycomb Asset Management, which invested in SpaceX. Sources added that Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey may back the takeover, and Musk was discussing with him the possibility of contributing shares immediately or prior to closing the merger.

Media reported earlier that Musk had lined up a new CEO for Twitter who will replace current chief executive Parag Agrawal. Musk repeatedly criticized Twitter’s content moderation practices and a top executive responsible for setting speech and safety policies. Agrawal, who only led the company for a few months, after taking over the helm from Dorsey last November, is expected to remain in his role until the sale of the company to Musk is completed.

Musk reportedly told investors that he felt Twitter’s EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) margin was too low and the company has “too many engineers not doing enough.” He also pledged to make the company a “magnet for talent,” the sources said.

Musk, who is ranked by Forbes as the world’s richest man, struck a deal with Twitter executives to buy the platform on April 25, and is now in the process of raising funding.

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