Elon Musk’s looming Twitter takeover ‘sinking’ in after visit to SF headquarters

SAN FRANCISCO — Elon Musk’s looming Twitter takeover is starting to “sink” in. The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, Musk is sending so-called “borrowing notices” to banks. It’s a move that is said to kick off the process to complete his $44-billion deal.

The news comes after Musk visited company headquarters in San Francisco Wednesday. He didn’t show up empty-handed.

“Entering Twitter HQ – let that sink in!” he tweeted.

An accompanying video showed Musk carrying an actual sink, as he walked into the company’s San Francisco office.

“It’s definitely par for the course of whoever this character Elon Musk is today,” CNET News Editor-in-Chief, Ian Sherr told ABC7 News.

The stunt happened just two days from Friday’s deadline for Musk to complete his $44 billion deal to purchase Twitter.

It’s a process that has been far from predictable, said Sherr.

VIDEO: Experts explain what the future of Twitter could look like with Elon Musk

“There’s 48 hours,” he said. “There’s plenty of time for him to screw it up if he wants to. But I think anyone who sticks around really has to believe that they can make a difference there. Because any sane person at this point must be thinking what the heck is going on?”

Musk also changed his Twitter profile to refer to himself as “Chief Twit” and his location as Twitter headquarters in San Francisco.

A second tweet read, “Meeting a lot of cool people at Twitter today.” It’s a workforce that could potentially be cut by as much as 75%, according to a recent Washington Post report. That’s an estimated 5,500 people who may soon face layoffs, if true and if the deal goes through.

RELATED: Elon Musk plans to slash Twitter staff by 75% after acquisition

Cal State East Bay Professor of Management, Dr. Kaumudi Misra shared advice for employees.

“Find your support system and also control the grapevine,” Dr. Misra said. “Rumors at this time don’t help anyone.”

She stressed that acquisitions and mergers are complicated by nature.

“There is a period of a little bit of flurry, a little bit of chaos that we probably are seeing now, after the announcement,” Misra told ABC7 News. “Then there is a little little bit of anticipation, and then decisions are taken, and then we settle down.”

MORE: Twitter closing or downsizing offices in San Francisco, New York; Oakland expansion plans dropped

She continued, “So we have to be mindful of that change cycle. And I think that’s what we are seeing.”

For now, Musk’s looming Twitter takeover is sinking in, with many questioning what his leadership will mean for employees and platform users alike.

“Very clearly, he is enjoying the fact that we are all sitting back and eating popcorn as we watch this whole thing unfold in the weirdest of ways,” Sherr shared.

A court has given Musk until Friday to close his April agreement to acquire the company after he earlier tried to back out of the deal. Neither Musk nor Twitter has said if the deal is closed yet.

Video is from a previous story

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