Musk Focuses Twitter on Revenue Business for Banks - Conveys Willingness to Cut Costs

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, reportedly expressed his intention to focus on revenue-generating businesses using the platform and reduce costs through mass layoffs in order to secure funds for acquiring Twitter.

On the 28th (local time), Bloomberg News and others, citing multiple sources, reported that Musk mentioned layoffs during a call with banks before announcing the agreement with Twitter, stating that he currently does not have access to Twitter's private data. Parag Agrawal, Twitter's CEO, told employees that operations would continue as usual until the acquisition process is complete, but Musk hinted that restructuring for cost reduction might occur afterward.

Musk also shared his ideas with the banks about generating revenue on the platform and ensuring smooth cash flow, suggesting subscription services. Sources revealed that he mentioned plans to attract influencers and celebrities to actively engage on Twitter. There were also references to a business model that generates revenue through tweets containing important content.

This report came three days after Musk and Twitter reached an acquisition agreement on the 25th. Twitter agreed to sell itself to Musk at $54.20 per share, totaling $44 billion. Musk stated that $25.5 billion of the acquisition funds would be borrowed from banks, with the remaining amount financed through his own capital. Musk sold Tesla shares worth $4 billion over two days, from the 26th to the 27th.

Other foreign media, citing sources, reported that Musk conveyed his vision to the banks rather than making a firm promise, and did not specify exactly how he would reduce costs after acquiring Twitter. However, during the acquisition process, Musk tweeted that eliminating the board of directors, with whom he clashed, could save $3 million annually.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.