Elon Musk has an agreement to acquire Twitter for about $44 billion
San Francisco (AP): Billionaire Elon Musk has reached an agreement to acquire Twitter for approximately 44 billion, the company said.
The outspoken Tesla CEO, the world's wealthiest person, has said he wants to buy Twitter because he thinks it's not living up to its potential as a platform for "free speech." He says it needs to be transformed as a private company in order to build trust with users and do better at serving what he calls the "societal imperative" of free speech.
Twitter said it will become a privately held company after the sale is closed.
"Twitter has a purpose and relevance that impacts the entire world," its CEO Parag Agrawal said in a tweet. "Deeply proud of our teams and inspired by the work that has never been more important."
Musk describes himself as a "free-speech absolutist," although he hasn't been exactly clear what he means by that. In a recent TED interview, the billionaire said he'd like to see Twitter err on the side of allowing speech instead of moderating it. He said he'd be "very reluctant" to delete tweets and would generally be cautious about permanent bans. He also acknowledged that Twitter would have to abide by national laws governing speech in markets around the world.
Musk himself, though, regularly blocks social media users who have criticized him or his company and has used the platform to bully reporters who have written critical articles about him or his company.
Twitter's board at first enacted an anti-takeover measure known as a poison pill that could have made a takeover attempt prohibitively expensive. But when Musk outlined the financial commitments he'd lined up to back his offer of 46.5 billion and no other bidders emerged the board opened negotiations with him.
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US rules out use of nuclear weapons against Iran
Washington DC: The White House has reportedly ruled out the use of nuclear weapons against Iran, even as uncertainty continues over ongoing peace negotiations and a deadline set by US President Donald Trump approaches.
Issues bout a possible escalation had increased after US Vice President JD Vance said that the United States has “tools in our toolkit that we so far haven’t decided to use” in dealing with Iran.
His remarks came amid rising tensions and ahead of a deadline linked to peace efforts.
The situation has attracted attention as Trump warned Iran that its “whole civilization will die tonight tonight” if an agreement is not reached by Tuesday at 8 pm.
This statement led to speculation about the possibility of extreme military measures, including a nuclear strike.
Following Vance’s comments, the White House issued a clarification distancing itself from such interpretations. In a post on X, it said, "Literally nothing @VP said here 'implies' this, you absolute buffoons." In a later statement, it added that “only the president knows” what action will be taken regarding Iran.
Literally nothing @VP said here "implies" this, you absolute buffoons https://t.co/7JU3wXMaWX
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 7, 2026
