The Tesla CEO's purchase marks the end of a six-month saga over the social media giant's future.
Elon Musk officially takes control of Twitter after closing a deal to buy the social media network for $44 billion.
Musk, the world's richest man, fired three executives, including CEO Parag Agrawal, in one of his first decisions to take charge of the social media giant, multiple U.S. media outlets reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Chief Financial Officer Ned Segal and head of legal, policy and trusteeship Vijaya Gadde were also fired, according to reports.
The Washington Post, citing anonymous sources, reported that Twitter's general counsel, Sean Edgett, was also fired.
Responding to the report, Musk tweeted that “the birds are free,” referring to the social media network's bird logo.
Musk and Twitter have yet to acknowledge the firings.
The Tesla CEO's acquisition would be the culmination of a tumultuous six-month struggle in which Twitter initially resisted Musk's acquisition bid and then sued him after he indicated he wanted to halt the deal due to concerns about spam accounts and whistle-blower complaints about poor cybersecurity practices.
Musk's interest in Facebook has touched off a debate about free speech in the digital age. Critics have expressed concern that his administration would mean hate speech and misinformation would flourish, but many conservatives have welcomed the acquisition as a corrective to big tech companies' censorship of politically incorrect voices.
Musk, who calls himself a “free speech absolutist,” has criticized Twitter's moderation policies and opposes censorship that goes beyond legal requirements. In May, Musk said he would reinstate former U.S. President Donald Trump's Twitter account, which had been deleted following the January 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol for allegedly inciting violence.
Musk has also expressed discomfort with Facebook's reliance on advertising and is widely expected to oversee major job cuts at the company, although he reportedly denied a Washington Post report that he plans to cut 75% of the workforce.
Musk, who changed his Twitter profile to “Chief Twitter,” denied having any intention to turn the platform into a “laissez-faire hellhole” in a lengthy message he posted to Twitter ahead of Friday's acquisition deadline.
“I bought Twitter because having a common digital forum where a wide range of beliefs can be debated in a healthy way, without resorting to violence, is important to the future of civilization,” he said.
A self-described moderate, Musk regularly weighs in on politics and has drawn criticism for his unconventional proposals for dealing with geopolitical hotbeds ranging from Taiwan to Ukraine.
The billionaire announced earlier this year that he would vote Republican in the next election because the Democratic Party had become “the party of division and hate,” but later said he would support moderate candidates from both parties.
