Twitter Accepts Elon Musk’s Offer to Buy Company in $44 Billion Deal

Twitter accepted Elon Musk’s bid to take over the company, which would give the world’s richest man control over the social-media network where he is also among its most influential users. The $44 billion deal marks the close of a dramatic courtship and a change of heart at Twitter, where many executives and board members initially opposed Musk’s takeover approach. The takeover, if it goes through, would mark one of the biggest acquisitions in tech history and will likely have global repercussions for years to come, including possibly reshaping how billions of people use social media. Mr. Musk will bring his commitment to a more hands-off approach on speech to a company that has struggled to reconcile freewheeling conversation with content that appeals to advertisers. Musk said after the deal was announced that he wants to make Twitter a better user experience, in part by adding new features and fighting spam. The billionaire, who is also chief executive of Tesla and SpaceX, has a record of challenging conventions in disparate industries.