🐦 Day 1 of Musk's Twitter

Plus: Initial reactions | Friday, October 28, 2022

Open in app View in browser   Presented By Equitybee   Axios Closer By Hope King and Nathan Bomey · Oct 28, 2022 Welcome to a special edition of Closer, dedicated to guiding you through the latest on Twitter under Elon Musk — Day 1. Today's newsletter is 629 words, a 2½-minute read. 🔔 The dashboard: The S&P 500 closed up 2.5%. Biggest gainer? Dexcom (+19.4%), the maker of glucose monitoring systems for diabetes management, beat analyst expectations with quarterly results after yesterday's bell. Biggest decliner? DaVita (-27.1%), the provider of kidney care and dialysis services, missed badly on quarterly expectations citing declining treatments and rising labor costs.     1 big thing: A whole new world Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios   The world shifted last night as Elon Musk completed his takeover of Twitter, putting one of the most influential communication platforms in the hands of an unpredictable leader, Hope writes. Catch up quick: The nearly eight-month saga ended a day before today's court-ordered deadline. On Thursday night, Twitter staffers began to hear details, through media reports and posts on Twitter, that the deal had closed and top executives had been fired. Details: That includes CEO Parag Agrawal, CFO Ned Segal, general counsel Sean Edgett, and Vijaya Gadde — the company's head of legal, policy and trust who was involved in banning former President Trump.  The big picture: Despite shrugging off the idea in the past, Musk has reportedly appointed himself CEO of Twitter, for now, and he's expected to make swift decisions.  His handling of account suspensions is the most anticipated. Musk has said he intends to limit permanent bans and believes in making Twitter a free-speech haven, raising concerns over increased hate speech and divisiveness. But yesterday in a note to advertisers, which make up nearly all of Twitter's revenue, he said, "Twitter obviously cannot become a free-for-all hellscape." The latest: Musk tweeted today that Twitter will form a content moderation council and that "no major content decisions or account reinstatements" will happen before it convenes. He said the council will reflect "widely diverse viewpoints."     2. Charted: So long, $TWTR Data: Yahoo Finance; Chart: Erin Davis/Axios Visuals Shares of ticker symbol TWTR (or $TWTR on Twitter) closed at $53.70 Thursday, a few hours before Musk officially parked the equity inside his X Holdings II, Hope writes. The stock will be delisted on Nov. 8.     3. Economic realities Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios   Musk is essentially fulfilling the role of a private equity company, Bloomberg corporate credit reporter Paula Seligson noted this morning during a Twitter Spaces conversation, Hope writes. If he acts like one, he'll have to significantly cut costs and grow revenue. Twitter's debt load has grown from about $2 billion to more than $13 billion, with an annual interest expense of $1.2 billion going forward, more than 12x what it is now, according to Seligson. The other side: Whether Musk cares about a near-term cash burn remains to be seen. He's already admitted to "obviously overpaying" for Twitter while saying he viewed its long-term potential as "an order of magnitude greater than its current value."     A message from Equitybee 3 steps to invest in high-growth, VC-backed startups     With Equitybee, you can get access to investment opportunities traditionally dominated by VCs. Here's how: Join the accredited investor network. Take your pick of high-growth startups. Grow your portfolio. Get started in minutes.     4. What users want from Musk Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios   Public figures are speaking out about Twitter's change in ownership, with sentiments ranging from enthusiastic support to despair, Hope writes. State of play: Requests to reactivate banned accounts — specifically Trump's account — flooded Twitter today, with direct mentions of @ElonMusk. Hodgetwins and Newsmax host Benny Johnson asked Musk when "wrongfully banned accounts" would come back online, attaching a slideshow of suspended accounts. The other side: Some users shared screenshots of antisemitic tweets and tweets containing the N-word sent during the first few hours of Musk's takeover, meant to illustrate how bad things had already progressed. The German government told Reuters it will re-evaluate its presence on Twitter as a result of Musk's takeover, and European regulators reiterated its rules and fines around illegal content.   Share Axios and earn rewards If you like this newsletter, your friends may, too! Refer your friends and get free Axios swag when they sign up. Be a good friend and share   5. Our thought bubble This week marks an inflection point in global communications, Hope writes. Trust in news and government has crumbled, whereas trust in business remains intact. That so much rides on the decisions of one CEO who many do not trust has a foreboding feeling. 💭 At the same time, I think if all of us look at our own actions online and elsewhere more closely, the pivot doesn't have to be down and to the right, nor does it have to rest solely on one man.     6. What else is happening 🏠 Pending home sales dropped more than expected in September, down 10.2% from the prior month. (CNBC) 🏃The mad rush for 9.62% I Bonds continued through Friday's deadline, bringing the total sold this week to more than $3.2 billion. (WSJ)     A message from Equitybee Unlock access to high-growth startups     Equitybee gives accredited investors unprecedented access to high-growth, VC-backed startups. What's in it for you: Invest in startups at past valuations by funding employee stock options. Then, you receive a portion of the future share. Get started in minutes.   Today's newsletter was edited by Pete Gannon and copy edited by Sheryl Miller. Why stop here? Let's go Pro. Join the thousands of professionals using Axios Pro to keep up with the companies, deals and trends changing their industries.   Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. If you're interested in advertising, learn more here. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. Axios, 3100 Clarendon B‌lvd, Arlington VA 22201   You received this email because you signed up for newsletters from Axios. Change your preferences or unsubscribe here.   Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up now to get Axios in your inbox.   Follow Axios on social media: