San Francisco (AFP) – Elon Musk has completed his $44 billion ($38.1 billion) takeover of Twitter, according to multiple media reports and an investor in the firm.

Twitter’s chief executive and finance boss has reportedly left with immediate effect.

It brings to a close a story that saw Twitter go to court to hold Mr. Musk to the terms of a takeover deal he had tried to escape.

Mr Musk tweeted that his interest in the platform was not about making money.

Musk fired Twitter chief executive Parag Aggarwal, chief financial officer Ned Segal and head of legal affairs and policy Vijay Gude, according to people familiar with the matter. He had accused them of misleading him and Twitter investors over the number of fake accounts on the social media platform.

Shares of the social media platform will be suspended from trading on Friday, according to the New York Stock Exchange’s website.

Mr Musk said he bought it to help humanity and wanted “civilisation to be a shared digital town square”.

Earlier this week Mr Musk tweeted a video of himself holding up a kitchen sink at Twitter’s headquarters in San Francisco with the caption: “Let it sink in!”

He also changed his Twitter profile to read “Chief Tweet”.

Many analysts argued that the price Mr. Musk is now paying for the company is too high given the decline in valuations of many tech stocks and Twitter’s struggle to attract customers and grow.

On a recent earnings call, the Tesla founder said that Twitter “is an asset that’s just been locked up for a long time, but it has incredible potential, although obviously I and other investors are overpaying for Twitter right now.” have been”.

– Long way to a deal –

Mr. Musk’s initial investment in Twitter initially escaped public notice. In January, he began regular share purchases, so that by mid-March he had amassed a 5% stake in the firm.

In April, he emerged as Twitter’s largest shareholder, and by the end of the month a deal was finally struck to buy the company for $44bn (£38bn).

He said he planned to clean up spam accounts and preserve the platform as a place for free speech.

But by mid-May Mr. Musk, a popular Twitter user, had begun to change his mind about the purchase, citing concerns that the number of fake accounts on the platform was higher than Twitter claimed. .

In July he said he wanted to acquire the company. However, Twitter argued that the billionaire was legally committed to buying the company.

Twitter eventually filed a lawsuit to keep him on the contract.

In early October, Mr. Musk revived his takeover plans for the company on the condition that legal action was put on hold.

– Change forward –

Mr. Musk, a self-described “free speech absolutist,” has been critical of Twitter’s moderation policies, and the news will be greeted with mixed feelings by Twitter users and employees.

Some users, particularly those on the American right, say conservative voices are censored on the platform — a charge Twitter denies.

The ban on former US President Donald Trump’s platform remains in place – a decision which Mr Musk previously said was “stupid” and he would reverse.

But others worry that soft moderation policies will allow hate speech to spread.

In a tweet addressed to Twitter’s advertisers, Mr Musk said the platform could not be a “free-hellscape for all” and should be “warm and welcoming to all”.