Elon Musk has hired a new CEO for Twitter, according to a new report from Reuters, and has informed banks that have agreed to fund his $44 billion acquisition bid of his plans to monetize tweets. A source told Reuters that Musk had decided who to appoint as Twitter’s new chief executive, but the source didn’t name the person. Current Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal, who took over the role after Jack Dorsey resigned in November, is expected to remain CEO until the deal closes.
Reuters reports that Musk told Twitter Chairman Bret Taylor that he had no confidence in the company’s management, which he also expressed in the SEC filings. Agrawal would receive a substantial compensation package if the deal goes through and Musk brings in new management, as according to the company’s latest proxy filing, he would be paid $38.7 million based on a clause in his contract.
Reuters reports that Musk has told banks he plans to develop more ways to monetize tweets. For example, he said he plans to create a way to monetize tweets that go viral or contain important information. He also suggested the idea of charging a fee when third-party websites quote or embed tweets from verified accounts.
As The Washington Post reports, Musk also floated the idea of paying influencers to create content for the platform, a business model that has proven successful for TikTok. Musk is also said to be interested in the idea of subscription services the company could offer.
In deleted tweets earlier this month, Musk suggested significant changes to Twitter Blue, the social media giant’s subscription service, which currently costs $2.99 per month. Musk suggested lowering the price, adding a way to pay in Dogecoin, and banning advertising. In another, now-deleted, tweet, Musk said he wanted to take Twitter away from its reliance on advertising for much of its revenue.
Musk had also told the banks he could crack down on board and executive pay on Twitter to cut costs. Reuters also reports that in his pitch to the banks, Musk said Twitter’s gross margin is much lower than other social media services like Facebook and Pinterest, arguing that there are ways to run the company more cost-effectively.
Bloomberg News reported this week that Musk spoke to bankers about the job cuts as part of his pitch to the lenders. Musk will reportedly not make decisions about downsizing until he becomes the owner of the company.
Twitter says the transaction, which was unanimously approved by its board of directors, is expected to close later this year after receiving shareholder and regulatory approvals and meeting “other customary closing conditions.” Musk will have to pay Twitter a $1 billion termination fee if he doesn’t go ahead with the social network’s acquisition, according to a recent SEC filing. The filing, which details the terms of the agreement, indicates that Twitter would have to pay the same fee in certain circumstances.