Tesla CEO Elon Musk To Lead Twitter Temporarily After $44 Billion Takeover: Report

Until the acquisition of Twitter is complete, Parag Agrawal, who was named Twitter’s CEO in November, is expected to remain in his role

Elon Musk listed a group of high-profile investors who are ready to fund $7.14 billion for his Twitter acquisition. Image: Getty

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New Delhi: After taking over Twitter for $44 billion, Tesla Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Elon Musk is likely to become the temporary CEO, quoting a source, Reuters reported.

The world's richest man Musk also heads two other ventures, The Boring Company and SpaceX.

On Thursday, Tesla shares plunged over 8 per cent, as investors were under apprehension that Musk’s involvement with Twitter could distract him from running Tesla, world’s most valuable electric carmaker.

On the other hand, shares of the social media platform, extended gains. The stock price shot up about 4 per cent at $50.89, closer to the deal price of $54.20, as investors bet that the new funding made the completion of the deal more likely.

Until the acquisition of Twitter is complete, Parag Agrawal, who was named Twitter’s CEO in November, is expected to remain in his role.

On Thursday, 50-year-old Musk listed a group of high-profile investors who are ready to fund $7.14 billion for his Twitter acquisition.

Oracle's co-founder Larry Ellison and Sequoia Capital are in that group.

Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, Saudi Arabian investor, who had last month said that the deal price was not sufficient for him to sell his shares, said Musk would be an “excellent leader” for Twitter. He has also agreed to roll his $1.89 billion stake into the deal.

Elon Musk, who has already secured commitments for a loan of $13 billion, increased the financing commitment to $27.25 billion that includes commitments from 19 investors. He even reduced a margin loan from Morgan Stanley to $6.25 billion.

The other investors include crypto firm Binance, New York-based real estate tycoon Steven Witkoff's firm and DFJ Growth IV Partners, which has investments in the Boring Company, SpaceX, SolarCity and Tesla.

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said, “We hope to be able to play a role in bringing social media and web3 together and broadening the use and adoption of crypto and blockchain technology.”

Musk was in talks with large investment companies and high-net-worth individuals (HNIs) about taking on more financing for his Twitter acquisition and tying up less of his wealth in the deal.