Big changes for Twitter

Twitter will be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange on November 8. 

The delisting is just one of the big changes expected for the social media platform following its acquisition by tech billionaire, Elon Musk. 

After months of contentious back and forth, Musk completed the US$44 billion deal last week, becoming the owner of one of the world’s largest and most successful platforms. 

Speaking on Taking Stock with Kalilah Reynolds, CEO of Profit Jumpstarter, Keisha Bailey said the Tesla and SpaceX boss has already hit the ground running, firing several top-level Twitter execs. 

Musk fired the company’s CEO Parag Agrawal, CFO Ned Segal, and policy head Vijaya Gadde. Bailey also noted that Musk dismissed Twitter’s entire board, a move in line with his plans to take the company private.

Effective November 8, after its delisting, the company’s shares will no longer be available for public trading. Additionally, as a privately-held company, Twitter will not be required to disclose its financial performance to the public. 

However, as Bailey noted, Musk has already announced plans to increase the company’s revenues. 

“Musk just announced that he’s going to be implementing a programme where you pay a subscription fee to be verified by Twitter,” she explained.

Verification, which is currently free on the platform, allows high-profile accounts to have a blue check mark beside their username. Verification is usually used to help followers differentiate authentic accounts from spam accounts.

“So, by having people pay for the highly sought after checkmark, that’s a straight up increase in revenue right there,” she said.

In response to questions regarding reinstating accounts of banned controversial figures, like former US president Donald Trump, Musk said that the company will be establishing a content moderation council. 

“No major content decisions or account reinstatements will happen before that council convenes,” he tweeted.

WATCH THE SEGMENT HERE