Musk planning to be Twitter interim CEO - report

Elon Musk reportedly plans to assume the role of interim chief executive officer at Twitter after completing his $44bn takeover.

Musk, who also owns Tesla and SpaceX, intends to replace Parag Agrawal, who was fired along with chief financial officer Ned Segal and legal affairs and policy chief Vijaya Gadde, upon completion of the takeover.

Bloomberg cited a person familiar with the matter as saying the billionaire is expected to remain CEO in the interim but may eventually cede the role in the longer term.

Musk has also reportedly said he plans to do away with permanent bans on users because he doesn’t believe in lifelong prohibitions. That means people previously booted off the social medial platform - such as former US president Donald Trump - may be allowed to return.

Earlier on Friday, Musk changed his Twitter bio to ‘Chief Twit’ and tweeted: "The bird is freed."

The EU was quick to respond. Thierry Breton, EU Commissioner for the Internal Market said on the social media platform: "In Europe, the bird will fly by our rules."

Breton used the hashtag "DSA", which is a reference to one of two new packages of EU legislation aimed at tightening oversight of social media.

Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor, said: "Musk’s leadership is likely to bring about a strategic U-turn for Twitter, switching the company’s focus from tackling trolls, fake news and conspiracy spreading as well as encouraging healthy content sharing, towards Musk’s free speech above everything mentality instead.

"Shares in Twitter have outperformed this year, buoyed by the takeover saga, but they may not be tradable on the public markets for much longer if Musk delivers on his desire to take Twitter private. He has long had an issue with the regulatory hurdles and periodic announcements required of a public company and its leadership. As Tesla’s CEO he once tweeted about taking the automaker private without following regulatory protocol, much to the dismay of the SEC."