Billionaire and newest owner of social media platform Twitter Elon Musk announced on Monday that he himself will serve as its new CEO. 

Many speculated that the eccentric billionaire – who has said he is buying the company to create a haven for free speech amid increasing censorship and content moderation on similar social media sites – would serve as the CEO himself after taking the company private and dismissing CEO Parag Agrawal and other top company officials last week.

“The reason I acquired Twitter is because it is important to the future of civilization to have a common digital town square, where a wide range of beliefs can be debated in a healthy manner, without resorting to violence,” Musk said in the message to advertisers on Monday.

"The bird is freed," he tweeted after he completed his $44 billion acquisition on Thursday, referencing Twitter's bird logo.

Elon Musk Twitter account is seen through Twitter logo in this illustration taken, April 25, 2022. (credit: DADO RUVIC/REUTERS ILLUSTRATION)
Elon Musk Twitter account is seen through Twitter logo in this illustration taken, April 25, 2022. (credit: DADO RUVIC/REUTERS ILLUSTRATION)

Musk’s “digital town square”

After a legal battle in which Musk tried to back out of the acquisition – which was agreed to in April and saw him attempt to renege after claiming that Twitter misrepresented the number of bot accounts on its platform – Musk came into Twitter HQ on Wednesday as the self-appointed “Chief Twit” of the company.

Musk has immediately followed through on his promise of reversing bans on popular Twitter accounts – most famously former President Donald Trump’s – since he took over the platform. 

Musk has also taken the opportunity to post jokes on Twitter for his 112.6 million followers – including taking aim at The New York Times.

Musk has, however, vowed to implement some form of content moderation. “Twitter will be forming a content moderation council with widely diverse viewpoints," he said in a Friday tweet. General Motors Inc. said that same day that they would pause advertising on Twitter as Musk takes the reigns.