Elon Musk won't just own Twitter. He'll act as CEO

Elon Musk will likely serve as Twitter's temporary CEO once his colossal $44 billion buyout of the social media juggernaut is complete, according to an initial report from CNBC.

Twitter's present CEO, Parag Agrawal, has held the position for mere months, but speculation was rampant since Musk's big buyout about his thoughts on replacing Agrawal once Musk completed his purchase of the social media firm.

Now we know who Musk was thinking of. At least in the short-term, it's himself.

Elon Musk's latest SEC filing reveals $7.14 billion in equity

A Thursday SEC filing detailed how Musk secured roughly $7.14 billion in equity commitments via investors and friends of the billionaire — to execute the buyout of Twitter. According to CNBC's David Faber, these investors were "handpicked", and their contributions ranged from $1 billion (from Oracle's co-founder, Larry Ellison), to a comparatively modest $5 million, via Honeycomb Asset Management — a firm that's already invested in SpaceX, according to the report.

Twitter's co-founder Jack Dorsey might also support Musk's decision to act as CEO — as Musk it engaged in ongoing talks with Dorsey about the details of closing the merger. Agrawal was awarded the CEO status in November 2021, but as early as last month, Reuters reported a person familiar with the subject said that Musk had a new CEO in mind for Twitter.

In April, Agrawal told his workers during a corporate-wide town hall that Twitter's future wasn't a sure thing under Musk, according to a different Reuters report. Public consensus is split on the matter, but the consensus of many users of the social media network is generally in agreement with Agrawal.

Musk is pitching investors as Twitter begins its year of change

"Once the deal closes, we don't know which direction the platform will go," Agrawal allegedly said, when he was asked whether the former U.S. President Donald Trump — who was permanently suspended from Twitter and other social media sites in the wake of the January 2021 Capitol Hill incident — would return to the social media platform.

Musk has recently led presentations for investors, where he pitched financial projections based on his analysis of Twitter, according to the CNBC report. Much change is expected for Twitter as a company throughout the rest of the year, but the ramifications for Twitter users — and society at large — could last for decades, or longer. Musk has repeatedly touted his beliefs in improving the websites standing and role as the "de facto town square", but whether that happens, or is possible amid economic turmoil and the looming threat of potentially global conflict remains to be seen.

This was developing news and was regularly updated as new information became available.