Billionaire Elon Musk is already floating major changes for Twitter 91裸聊视频� and faces major hurdles as he begins his first week as .

Twitter91裸聊视频檚 new owner fired the company91裸聊视频檚 board of directors and made himself the board91裸聊视频檚 sole member, according to a company filing Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Musk later said on Twitter that the new board setup is 91裸聊视频渢emporary,91裸聊视频� but he didn91裸聊视频檛 provide any details.

He91裸聊视频檚 also testing the waters on asking users to pay for verification. A venture capitalist working with Musk tweeted a poll asking how much users would be willing to pay for the blue check mark that Twitter has historically used to verify higher-profile accounts so other users know it91裸聊视频檚 really them.

Musk, whose account is verified, replied, 91裸聊视频淚nteresting.91裸聊视频�

Critics have derided the mark, often granted to celebrities, politicians, business leaders and journalists, as an elite status symbol.

But Twitter also uses the blue check mark to verify activists and people who suddenly find themselves in the news, as well as little-known journalists at small publications around the globe, as an extra tool to curb misinformation coming from accounts that are impersonating people.

91裸聊视频淭he whole verification process is being revamped right now,91裸聊视频� Musk tweeted Sunday in response to a user who asked for help getting verified.

On Friday, meanwhile, billionaire Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal said he and his Kingdom Holding Company rolled over a combined $1.89 billion in existing Twitter shares, making them the company91裸聊视频檚 largest shareholder after Musk. The news raised concerns among some lawmakers, including Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut.

Murphy tweeted that he is requesting the Committee on Foreign Investment 91裸聊视频� which reviews acquisitions of U.S. businesses by foreign buyers 91裸聊视频� to investigate the national security implications of the kingdom91裸聊视频檚 investment in Twitter

91裸聊视频淲e should be concerned that the Saudis, who have a clear interest in repressing political speech and impacting U.S. politics, are now the second-largest owner of a major social media platform,91裸聊视频� Murphy tweeted. 91裸聊视频淭here is a clear national security issue at stake and CFIUS should do a review.91裸聊视频�

Having taken ownership of the social media service, Musk has invited a group of tech-world friends and investors to help guide the San Francisco-based company91裸聊视频檚 transformation, which is likely to include a shakeup of its staff. Musk last week .

There91裸聊视频檚 been uncertainty about if and when he could begin larger-scale layoffs.

91裸聊视频淚 do think there will be a lot of layoffs,91裸聊视频� said Matthew Faulkner, an assistant finance professor at San Jose State University. Faulkner noted the need for cost-cutting after Musk bought Twitter for a premium and the platform91裸聊视频檚 longtime struggles trying to turn a profit. But Musk might also want as quickly as possible to weed out employees who don91裸聊视频檛 believe in his mission so that those who stay feel more secure.

91裸聊视频淵ou don91裸聊视频檛 want to have frantically scared employees working for you,91裸聊视频� Faulkner said. 91裸聊视频淭hat doesn91裸聊视频檛 motivate people.91裸聊视频�

Those who have revealed they are helping Musk include Sriram Krishnan, a partner at venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, which pledged back in the spring to chip in to Musk91裸聊视频檚 plan to buy the company and take it private.

Krishnan, who is also a former Twitter product executive, said in a tweet that it is 91裸聊视频渁 hugely important company and can have great impact on the world and Elon is the person to make it happen.91裸聊视频�

Jason Calacanis, the venture capitalist who tweeted the poll about whether users would pay for verification, said over the weekend he is 91裸聊视频渉anging out at Twitter a bit and simply trying to be as helpful as possible during the transition.91裸聊视频�

Calacanis said the team already 91裸聊视频渉as a very comprehensive plan to reduce the number of (and visibility of) on the platform.91裸聊视频� And in the Twitter poll, he asked if users would pay between $5 and $15 monthly to 91裸聊视频渂e verified & get a blue check mark91裸聊视频� on Twitter. Twitter is currently free for most users because it depends on advertising for its revenue.

Musk agreed to buy Twitter for $44 billion in April but it wasn91裸聊视频檛 until Thursday evening that he finally closed the deal, after his attempts to back out of it led to a protracted legal fight with the company. Musk91裸聊视频檚 lawyers are now asking the Delaware Chancery Court to throw out the case, according to a court filing made public Monday. The two sides were supposed to go to trial in November if they didn91裸聊视频檛 close the deal by the end of last week.

Musk has made a number of pronouncements since early this year about how to fix Twitter, and it remains unclear which proposals he will prioritize.

He has promised to cut back some of Twitter91裸聊视频檚 content restrictions to promote free speech, but said Friday that no major decisions on content or reinstating of banned accounts will be made until a 91裸聊视频渃ontent moderation council91裸聊视频� with diverse viewpoints is put in place. He later qualified that remark, tweeting 91裸聊视频渁nyone suspended for minor & dubious reasons will be freed from Twitter jail.91裸聊视频�

The head of a cryptocurrency exchange that invested $500 million in Musk91裸聊视频檚 Twitter takeover said he had a number of reasons for supporting the deal, including the possibility Musk would transition Twitter into a company supporting cryptocurrency and the concept known as Web3, which many cryptocurrency enthusiasts envision as the next generation of the internet.

91裸聊视频淲e want to make sure that crypto has a seat at the table when it comes to free speech,91裸聊视频� Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao told CNBC on Monday. 91裸聊视频淎nd there are more tactical things, like we want to help bring Twitter into Web3 when they91裸聊视频檙e ready.91裸聊视频�

He said cryptocurrency could be useful for solving some of Musk91裸聊视频檚 immediate challenges, such as the plan to charge a premium membership fee for more users.

91裸聊视频淭hat can be done very easily, globally, by using cryptocurrency as a means of payment,91裸聊视频� he said.

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Associated Press Writer Randall Chase contributed to this story.

Matt O91裸聊视频檅rien And Barbara Ortutay, The Associated Press

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