San Francisco: Elon Musk has posted a video of himself walking into Twitter’s headquarters here in California, US, carrying a sink, raising speculation about the fate of his planned takeover and alleged purge.
He also updated his Twitter bio to read “chief twit” as the billionaire faces a Friday deadline to complete the $44 billion purchase, which he announced months ago but then tried to abandon.
He agreed to move forward earlier in October, just weeks before a court trial over those moves was due to start.
“Entering Twitter HQ – let that sink in!” Musk tweeted on Thursday.
In business parlance, “kitchen sinking” means taking radical action at a company, though it is not clear if this was Musk’s message, the BBC reported.
Musk has said the social media site needs significant changes. At least one report has suggested he is planning major job cuts to bring it down to around 2,000 from existing around 7,500.
It was not clear whether the Tesla boss met with executives at Twitter on Wednesday, but he listed his location as the Twitter headquarters in San Francisco on the social media platform.
When Musk first revealed plans to buy Twitter, he said he wanted to clean up spam accounts on the platform and preserve it as a venue for free speech.
But the world’s richest man and a prolific Twitter user known for his impulsive style, balked at the purchase just a few weeks later, citing concerns that the number of fake accounts on the platform was higher than Twitter claimed.
Twitter executives denied the accusations, arguing that Musk wanted out because he was worried about the price.
The platform eventually filed a lawsuit to hold him to the deal, and Musk revived his takeover plans for the company on the condition that legal proceedings were paused.
Investors voiced scepticism that the takeover would go ahead, especially as Musk was seen as offering a heady price for a firm struggling to attract users and grow.
However, the deal must be completed by October 28, or he will face trial over the contract.
“I’m excited about the Twitter situation,” Musk said during a recent Tesla earnings call.
“I think it’s an asset that has just sort of languished for a long time but has incredible potential, although obviously myself and the other investors are overpaying for Twitter right now,” the BBC quoted Musk as saying.
It came as Tesla, the electric car-maker, reportedly faced a criminal investigation in the US over claims that the company’s electric vehicles can auto-drive.
