Technology drives the world these days. It also drives human passion and the stock market. So when Elon Musk, the richest man on the planet, said he wants to buy Twitter, all for himself, things got a little out of hand. When he said the price was $ 44 billion, things got wild. Then he pressed the pause button on the sale. That’s how things have gone bizarre.

Here is an introduction to what you can expect in this edition, and more.

Watch, before you read on to find more at:

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When Twitter agreed to be bought over by billionaire Elon Musk, its board was not even sure that Musk would be specifically interested in the social media attributes of the platform. Knowing Musk, he always has other ideas up his sleeve. Top US media houses, such as the International New York Times, have already started shouting from rooftops, clamouring that Twitter would become a “scary place” after this, that workplace racial slurs will become commonplace now. It is as if humanity will suffer one last hiccup and die if the basic structure of Twitter is tinkered with.

Quite some time back, one top entrepreneur had told a very interesting story. The businessman had made a ton of money the traditional way, and was not too interested in the EV market, or in Elon Musk’s company Tesla. This was till his son joined Tesla. One day his son comes to him and asks him why he is not investing in Tesla. The businessman was adamant that he was not interested in investing in a car company, especially an EV company. He admitted that he was not aware of the business statistics of the EV market and that he would not want to invest in something he did not understand.

That was till his son explained to him that Tesla was less of a car company and more of a data company. Every time one Tesla is driven out – or drives out, if it is on auto drive mode – the car collects and relays data to the company. It collects data on the route taken, on the choices of the user/owner and on a thousand other parameters. Such data not only goes into Musk’s other products – such as the Gigafactory, or even SpaceX – but also yields other business benefits. The businessman did not have to be convinced further. His initial investment in Tesla has now paid rich dividends.

That is the extent of Musk’s thoughts. Hence when current CEO Parag Agrawal says that he has “no idea which direction Twitter will go in”, he seems to be speaking the truth.

The first time Twitter staff came ‘face to face’ with Musk was in January 2020, when a large number of Twitter employees gathered in Houston for a corporate summit called #OneTeam. That was when Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, who was CEO at the time, told all that he had invited a surprise guest. As a smiling Musk appeared remotely, on giant screens, the crowd cheered, clapped and said: “We love you.”

That love seems to have disappeared. Inside the offices of Twitter now there is massive tension as to what Musk wants to do and why he is taking Twitter private. He may be the richest man on the planet, but even he will not have cash lying around to fund part of the $44 billion buyout. He has already sold Tesla shares to possibly fund this acquisition, but now more stories are tumbling out.

Stock sales begin
That process has already started. Media reports say that just days after agreeing to buy Twitter Musk sold roughly $8.5bn (£6.8bn) worth of shares in the electric car maker. This is to help Musk finance his mega purchase. This sale was expected, and the Tesla stock had fallen sharply amid this speculation. Then, later in the week, Musk tweeted that he had no plans to sell any more of his shares in the electric carmaker.

According to filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Musk sold a total of 9.6 million Tesla shares. That still leaves Musk with more than 15% of the company. This was the first time Musk sold shares in Tesla, since offloading $16.4bn worth of stock in November and December last year.

Musk has said that he would commit $21bn of his assets to help finance the $44bn deal to buy Twitter. Even at this point Musk is the world’s richest person, with an estimated net worth of almost $250bn, mostly due to his Tesla stake.

He also has a more than 40% stake in the rocket company SpaceX, which is estimated to be worth $100bn.

The twist
However, here comes the twist. Recently, Musk has said that he has paused the purchase of the massive social media platform, alleging that Twitter has more than the 5% fake accounts that twitter had earlier said it has. According to Musk, this means there will be less number of accounts onboard to monetise.

The truth in this can only be adjudged through a massive audit and it is not even sure that this can actually be done. Now allegations have surfaced that Musk might be wanting to rig the Twitter share price downwards with this claim – Twitter shares have already fallen and when he does make his move, he will, therefore have to shell out less money than already planned.

This is not impossible, but highly improbable. The Securities and Exchange Commission will not take kindly to such moves in a deal that had gone a long way. It will nw be up to Musk to prove that the number of fake accounts are actually more. How does he do that?

Free speech
Let us return to the original line of thought, though. So Musk wants to change Twitter desperately and wants to change it back to its supposed “free speech” days. To make his point he has even joked that he will buy Coca Cola next and put the cocaine right back into Coke. Coca Cola actually did have a small percentage of cocaine in each bottle during its formative days, stopped when law said so. Surely this is not Musk’s prime intent, but a wild remark to make his point on Twitter.

Remember one thing for sure. Musk has huge business interests in China and Russia. If Twitter can return to China, that would be great. Also, there is a possibility that Twitter could become basically a data company. It still is, but with a large number of roadblocks being set up by the Twitter staff, adhering to several government structures, this possibility has dwindled.

However, how can Musk promote his “free speech” agenda in China? Chinese laws will not allow that. Hence, there is another twist in the tale. Musk will do something that he may not be allowed to do by stakeholders in a public company. But Musk cannot do anything that the law of the land does not allow. Hence he seems to be straitjacketed both ways.

We should wait and watch, but in the meantime, remain wary that Twitter’s composition and flavour might change completely.

Confusion
As of now, there is a lot of confusion over what Musk intends to do with Twitter.

The employees are reportedly frustrated that they had heard little from management about what the sale means for them, so they asked CEO Agrawal, then asked Musk himself in questions sent on Twitter and some even went to Charles Schwab, the financial firm that manages their stock options.

They were none the richer for that, except that Agrawal and Twitter’s chair, Bret Taylor, came back to them and clarified that compensation would remain largely the same under Musk, though there will certainly be changes in Twitter’s policies and culture.

Agarwal’s comment was typical corporatese. Said he: “We constantly evolve our policies. Once the deal closes, we don’t know what direction this company will go in.”

The West is eager to know whether former President Donald Trump would be allowed back into the Twitter fold. Why this is so earthshakingly important is not clear, though.

So the world’s town square, as Twitter is often referred to, will be different. That should not change the town, should not change intelligent minds. That should not mean that Musk will be able to propagate anything he wishes, denying the authority of local laws. He will not be able to do that. Hence the West’s worries are not too well placed at the moment.

Some employees said that they are worried that Musk would “undo the years of work they have put into cleaning up the toxic corners of the platform, upend their stock compensation in the process of taking the company private, and disrupt Twitter’s culture with his unpredictable management style and abrupt proclamations,” as per a report. But people forget that Twitter is not a country. It is a social media platform within the jurisdictions of many countries. To that extent, Musk may have a plan that could be way different that what is being discussed. He is not paying $54.20 per share, a good premium, for nothing.

The only sticking point is that founder Dorsey will have to part with only $ 1billion. That is the value of the limited number of stocks her owns. Agarwal gets $ 40 million, but he sticks around too.

Watch the tweets from now.

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The deal, which will take the company private, caps off a whirlwind period in which the Tesla and SpaceX CEO became one of Twitter’s largest shareholders, was offered and turned down a seat on its board and bid to buy the company all in less than a month.

Under the terms of the deal, shareholders will receive $54.20 in cash for each share of Twitter stock they own, matching Musk’s original offer and marking a 38% premium over the stock price the day before Musk revealed his stake in the company.

Twitter said Musk secured $25.5 billion of debt and margin loan financing and is providing a $21 billion equity commitment.

“The Twitter Board conducted a thoughtful and comprehensive process to assess Elon’s proposal with a deliberate focus on value, certainty, and financing,” Twitter independent board chair Bret Taylor said in a statement, calling the deal” the best path forward for Twitter’s stockholders.”

In an internal message to employees obtained by CNN, Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal said he would hold an all-hands meeting with Taylor on Monday afternoon to answer questions about the deal. “I know this is a significant change and you’re likely processing what this means for you and Twitter’s future,” he said.

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Harbhajan Singh, the ‘Turbanator’, has finally announced his retirement from all forms of cricket. He made the announcement over Twitter. Also, sharing a video on YouTube, the off-spinner explained: “Today, I am retiring from all formats of cricket. Mentally, I retired earlier, but couldn’t announce it.

In any case, I have not been playing active cricket for some time but due to my commitment with Kolkata Knight Riders, I wanted to stay with them for the IPL (2021) season. But during the season, I had already made up my mind to retire.”

Harbhajan was an integral and very important part of the Indian team across all formats of the game in the 2000s. He won the 2007 ICC WT20 and the 2011 ICC World Cup with the team under captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. He shot to fame in 2001 with his role in helping India beat Steve Waugh’s all-conquering Australian side in a home Test series.

He picked up 32 wickets in the series, which included a hat-trick in the landmark 2nd Test at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, which was the first by an Indian bowler.

“All good things come to an end and today as I bid adieu to the game that has given me everything in life, I would like to thank everyone who made this 23-year-long journey beautiful and memorable. My heartfelt thank you. Grateful,” Harbhajan wrote on Twitter.

Harbhajan made his Test debut as a 17-year-old against Australia in Bengaluru in March 1998. Picking up two wickets in an eight-wicket defeat.

A month later after Test debut, the Ludhiana lad made his ODI debut against New Zealand. However, just like his Test debut failure, the ODI debut was also forgettable as he could only pick up a single wicket, his T20 debut on December 1; 2006 against South Africa.

He would go on to pick up 417 wickets in 103 Test matches and remains India’s fourth highest wicket-taker in Test cricket; his last Test was against Sri Lanka on August 12, 2015. Harbhajan also turned out in 236 ODIs from 1998 to 2015, taking 269 wickets at 33.35 and an economy rate of 4.31, last ODI against South Africa on October 25, 2015.

He played 28 T20Is, taking 25 wickets at an average of 25.32 and an economy rate of 6.20, last T20 against UAE on March 4, 2016. His overall tally of 707 international wickets is the second-highest for India, behind Anil Kumble’s 953.

Harbhajan was a part of the India team, which achieved a lot of success away from home under the captaincy of Sourav Ganguly. He is among the select few Indian cricketers who have played two ICC World Cup finals, losing to Australia in 2003 and winning against Sri Lanka in 2011.

RECORDS
First Indian to take a Test hattrick
Most successful off-spinner of India (417 wickets)

Ganguly stated in a BCCI press release: “I congratulate Harbhajan Singh on a remarkable career. He has faced several challenges in his life, but Bhajji is not the one to give up. He has overcome many hurdles and put many setbacks behind him to rise every time.

What inspired me the most about him was his hunger to perform. His strength was his guts and courage. He was always very passionate, and his immense self-belief meant he never shied away from a fight. He also kept the dressing room atmosphere light and that is something really important.” Harbhajan has had great success in the IPL too, taking 150 wickets in 163 matches, fifth on the all-time list.

Harbhajan also took 20 wickets in 22 Champions League T20 matches, leading Mumbai Indians to victory in the competition in 2011.

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Agrawal, who grew up in India, is an IIT Bombay graduate. He joined Twitter in 2011. After his graduation, he went on to complete his PhD in Computer Science at Stanford University.

As of now, almost all prominent tech companies of the world are headed by Indians, especially IIT alums. These companies are Google (Alphabet) chief Sundar Pichai, Microsoft head Satya Nadella, Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen, IBM CEO Arvind Krishna, Palo Alto Networks CEO Nikesh Arora. Twitter adds to the garland of Indian-origin celebrities.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted: “USA benefits greatly from Indian talent.” Indian industrialist Anand Mahindra jokingly called this the “Indian CEO virus”.

Trump set to launch a TRUTH platform
Donald Trump back at it again, this time wants to get back at Twitter and other social media apps that have dared to show scant respect to the former US President. And, displaying another unique Trumpism, he has decided to launch his own social media network, called TRUTH Social. Trust Trump to unleash the truth. And that is not tongue-in-cheek, BTW.

“His platform will “stand up to the tyranny of big tech”

His bile comes from his own idea. Says he, his platform will “stand up to the tyranny of big tech”. He says opposition voices were being silenced, his own, likely. He does carry a grudge.

He was banned from Twitter and suspended from Facebook after his supporters stormed the US Capital. Then Twitter and Facebook even dared to delete some of his posts or labelling them as misleading. Of course, Trump had said in those that Covid was “less lethal” than the flu. And he had said: “We live in a world where the Taliban has a huge presence on Twitter, yet your favourite American President has been silenced.”

Now he will have his own voice heard, to whoever will care to listen.

Nick for Bolly as Priyanka goes for Hollywood
Even as Priyanka Chopra gets busy with acting stints in big Hollywood movies, her American singer-actor husband Nick Jonas seems to be going the Bollywood way. Nick, who recently was quoted as saying that Bollywood was a ‘phenomenal’ film industry, has seemingly spoken about the possibility of making his debut in a Hindi film.

Nick’s love for Bollywood, it seems, had started way before his marriage with Priyanka, if we are to believe him. He has said that his love affair with Bollywood only grew, as he became more familiar with the Indian industry in the last couple of years through Priyanka. He has talked about his many friends here and has also said that the work, too, is inspiring. Hmm. He has said that if the right project came his way, he would be willing to sign up. That is as open an invitation as it gets.

Nick’s love for Bollywood had started way before his marriage with Priyanka

He also digs Bollywood music. He says he finds them amazing and listened to them quite a lot when he was in India and during their destination wedding in 2018. He said that it is the best kind of music to dance to and that they play them at their house parties.

I accept big time golf is over for me: Tiger Woods
The acrimonious divorce hadn’t ended it, his loss of sponsors did not, but a near-fatal car accident did. Tiger Woods has recently said that he will “never” play golf again, full-time, following the accident. This could be because of the multiple leg injuries that the accident left him with.

In an interview to Golf Digest, the 45-year-old looked ahead to his career in the sport and admitted that he has come to terms with the fact that he will never be the same player he once was. “I think something that is realistic is playing the tour one day, never full-time ever again. It’s an unfortunate reality, but it’s my reality. And I understand it, and I accept it.”

He had added: “I don’t have to compete and play against the best players in the world to have a great life… I can still participate in the game of golf. I can still, if my leg gets OK, I can still click off a tournament here or there.”

‘I don’t have to compete and play against the best players in the world to have a great life’

The gold superstar met with the accident on February 23 as he lost control of his vehicle in Los Angeles. According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff, “The first contact was with the center median, from there then crossed into the opposing lane of traffic, hit the curb, hit a tree, and there were several rollovers during that process.” It was surprising Woods lived. He wants it to stay that way.

Halle Berry will now be a producer too
Oscar winning superstar and Bond girl Halle Berry is venturing into production. She has said that she will produce and star in multiple films for Netflix and has signed a new agreement. This is her next step after her directorial debut, Bruised.

Bruised, with Berry as director, debuted on Netflix and quickly became the No. 1 movie of the week on the platform. It currently stands as No. 4. She has celebrated her success on Instagram with a video of herself dancing to H.E.R.’s “Automatic Woman” from the Bruised soundtrack.

“When you find out the night before that your film is #1 in the U.S. and #2 globally and you start drinking to celebrate this is bound to happen. #tipsy,” Berry wrote in the caption. On Twitter, the actress wrote “Grateful” about her new future at Netflix.

In Bruised, Berry, who also produced the movie, acted as Jackie Justice, a disgraced MMA fighter who finds redemption and the courage to face her demons when her son re-enters her life. She has told the media: “My directorial debut, Bruised, was a labour of love and I knew that Scott [Stuber] and Ted [Sarandos] would treat it with great care. The Netflix team has not only been collaborative and creative, but extremely passionate and a delight to work with. I am beyond grateful for the partnership and look forward to telling more stories together.”

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