‘Chief Twit’ Elon Musk visits Twitter HQ as takeover deadline looms

Elon Musk has won huge praise for revolutionising the car and space industries but also drawn flak for his outbursts on Twitter. — © AFP

Elon Musk changed his Twitter profile to “Chief Twit” and posted video of himself walking into the social network’s California headquarters carrying a sink Wednesday, days before his contentious takeover of the company must be finalized.

The billionaire Tesla chief captioned the video “Entering Twitter HQ – let that sink in!” He also listed his location as Twitter headquarters in San Francisco.

It was not clear whether Musk met with anyone at Twitter, but he is supposed to be working with the company to complete the on-again, off-again $44 billion takeover.

The deal must be sealed by Friday, or Musk will face trial over the contract.

He had made an unsolicited offer to buy Twitter, and inked a deal in April — but then sought to terminate the sale. Twitter filed a lawsuit to hold him to it.

With a trial looming, the unpredictable billionaire capitulated, reviving his takeover plan on the condition that legal proceedings were put on hold.

Musk, the world’s richest man, has reportedly been lining up financing since a judge paused litigation on October 6.

Musk said in July he was canceling the deal because he was misled by Twitter over the number of fake “bot” accounts — allegations rejected by the company.

Twitter, in turn, sought to prove Musk was contriving excuses to walk away simply because he changed his mind.

“I’m excited about the Twitter situation,” Musk said during a recent Tesla earnings call.

“I think it’s an asset that has just sort of languished for a long time but has incredible potential, although obviously myself and the other investors are overpaying for Twitter right now.”