Game Of Tweets: How The Twitter Saga Is Unfolding Every day, the world wakes up to new developments on the social media platform tweeted out by its unpredictable new owner, with loyal users perplexed over what the future of Twitter holds for them.
By Kabir Singh Bhandari •
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It may seem that 51-year-old Elon Musk is playing out the role of Heath Ledger's Joker in real life, with everyone guessing what his next move would be. Every day, the world wakes up to new developments on the social media platform tweeted out by its unpredictable new owner, with loyal users perplexed over what the future of Twitter holds for them.
With events unfolding with the pace of a seat of the edge IPL match, we give you a timeline of how it all began, right up to what is going on currently.
The Twitter-Elon Musk Timeline
4 April – With a 9.2 per cent stake, Elon Musk became the biggest Twitter shareholder, with speculations swirling around that a takeover bid may be around the corner.
5 April – Twitter makes an announcement stating that they shall be appointing Musk to its board. Twitter's chief executive Parag Agrawal expresses his excitement over the move, saying that Musk is "a passionate believer and intense critic" of the platform.
11 April – Agrawal says that Musk shall not be joining the board, not stating any particular reason. The world begins to realize that the Musk-Twitter deal is heading down a complicated path.
14 April – Musk says that he can buy Twitter at $54.20 per share, putting the valuation of the company at $40 billion, saying that he wanted to use the platform to give a push to free speech all over the globe.
25 April – After talks resembling the motions of a see-saw, a deal is reached for Musk to buy Twitter for $54.20 per share ($44 billion). In a tweet, the entrepreneur says, "Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated."
13 May – Musk announces that the deal "temporarily on hold" while he awaits a report that confirms Twitter's claim about less than 5 per cent of its users being fake accounts.
6 June – Musk's lawyers accuse Twitter of committing a "material breach" of his agreement to buy the company by not supplying enough information relating to spam users.
8 July – Musk says that he is terminating the deal. Twitter answers back saying that it shall go the legal route to ensure that he buys the company.
12 July – Twitter files a lawsuit in Delaware, where they are incorporated, according to which Musk should close the deal on the agreed terms.
29 July – Now Musk sues Twitter, accusing them of purposely misreporting the number of spam accounts.
29 September – A Delaware court makes public text messages of Musk which reveal certain grim details. For example, the podcaster Joe Rogan asked Musk if he would "liberate Twitter from the censorship happy mob", to which Musk replied, "I will provide advice, which they may or may not choose to follow."
4 October – Unexpectedly to all, Musk says he will finally be buying Twitter.
26 October – Musk sets social media aflutter by visiting the Twitter headquarters in San Francisco with a sink. He rubbishes a previous report, according to which he was supposed to lay off 75 per cent of the staff.
27 October – Several top executives of Twitter, including Agrawal are told to leave the company.
28 October – Twitter confirms the deal between Musk and them.
31 October- The world's richest man says that he would start charging users with the blue tick at $20 a month, and they would have upto 90 days to start this subscription, otherwise their blue tick shall be taken away. For others in the future who are eligible for the blue tick, they shall have to pay the same amount.
2 November- Musk revises the fee amount to $8.
4 November- 3,700 employees of the company are fired via emails sent to them.
7 November- Twitter calls back some of the employees it fired, stating that some of them had been let go as an error.
10 November- Twitter's $8 Verification: Fake Tweets Of LeBron James, George Bush and O.J. Simpson Cause Chaos
11 November: Eli Lilly Stock Plummets After Parody Twitter Account Says Insulin is Now Free
14 November: Tweets That Sum Up Elon Musk's Twitter Troubles
14 November: 'Mission Accomplished': Man Suspended After Fooling Thousands With Fake Tesla Twitter Account
17 November: Elon Musk Admits His Mistake In Firing Ligma and Johnson And Welcomes Them Back To Twitter
18 November: Twitter Locks Its Office and Suspends Badge Access
22 November: 'The Culture is Decimated': Elon Musk's 'Tyrannical Management' Slammed on Anonymous Employee Forum
23 November: Elon Musk Has Started Taking Weekly Updates From Twitter Employees
