Tesla CEO Elon Musk could fire Twitter’s legal head who is responsible for censoring conservative voices.
Days after Twitter accepted Elon Musk‘s offer to buy the social network for $54.20 per share in cash, reports have emerged suggesting that Musk might slash jobs and reduce the salaries of the company executives.
Among those directly in the line of fire are censors, with Musk’s free-speech absolutism seen as the driving force behind his takeover of the company. Twitter’s chief lawyer, who is seen as leading the microblogging site’s censorship of conservatives, is seen by many as the first on the block – but not only for her policies.
Musk could fire Twitter’s legal head Vijaya Gadde, who makes about $17 million a year and is one of the highly paid executives at the micro-blogging platform, once he takes over.
According to CNBC’s David Fabor report, “Musk is expected to serve as a temporary CEO of Twitter for a few months after he completes his $44 billion take over of the social media company.”
Here’s what the Fox Business reported:
“The report comes as Musk has secured $7.1 billion in new funding for the deal from a group of more than a dozen investors, including Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, cryptocurrency exchange Binance, Fidelity, and Brookfield Asset Management. In addition, Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Alsaud has agreed to retain his 34,948,975 Twitter shares, worth approximately $1.9 billion.”
“As a result of the new commitments, Musk’s margin loan financing for the deal has been reduced from $12.5 billion to $6.25 billion, while his equity financing has increased from $21 billion to $27.25 billion. Musk’s filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission emphasizes that he is currently in discussions with existing shareholders of Twitter common stock, including co-founder Jack Dorsey, regarding ‘the possibility of contributing such shares of Common stock, at or immediately prior to the closing of the Merger, in order to retain an equity investment in Twitter following completion of the merger.’”
Musk, known for his cryptic tweets, seemed to suggest in a tweet that he would be shaking up more leadership teams at Twitter.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 27, 2022
Before the purchase, Gadde received a roughly 130 percent pay raise in 2021. Her total compensation in 2021 was almost $17 million — up from about $7.3 million in 2020.
A recent article surfaced that claimed that Gadde broke down in tears during a staff meeting about the impending takeover.
If fired, however, Gadde stands to win a hefty severance package worth $12.5 million that includes the accelerated vesting of a trove of Twitter shares she has accrued.
Musk’s deal to purchase Twitter is not done yet. A Securities and Exchange Commission filing related to the purchase shows Musk is on the hook to pay a $1 billion termination fee should the deal fall through.
In one instance, the filing states that if the deal is not finalized on or before October 24, 2022, the SEC filing stipulates that Twitter “may terminate the Merger Agreement.” Additionally, it could also fail if Twitter stockholders “fail to adopt the Merger Agreement.”
Sources: Conservativebrief, NYpost, Fox Business
