Billionaire Elon Musk is already floating major changes for Twitter 害羞草研究所� and faces major hurdles as he begins his first week as .

Twitter害羞草研究所檚 new owner fired the company害羞草研究所檚 board of directors and made himself the board害羞草研究所檚 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 害羞草研究所渢emporary,害羞草研究所� but he didn害羞草研究所檛 provide any details.

He害羞草研究所檚 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 it害羞草研究所檚 really them.

Musk, whose account is verified, replied, 害羞草研究所淚nteresting.害羞草研究所�

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.

害羞草研究所淭he whole verification process is being revamped right now,害羞草研究所� 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 company害羞草研究所檚 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 害羞草研究所� which reviews acquisitions of U.S. businesses by foreign buyers 害羞草研究所� to investigate the national security implications of the kingdom害羞草研究所檚 investment in Twitter

害羞草研究所淲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,害羞草研究所� Murphy tweeted. 害羞草研究所淭here is a clear national security issue at stake and CFIUS should do a review.害羞草研究所�

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 company害羞草研究所檚 transformation, which is likely to include a shakeup of its staff. Musk last week .

There害羞草研究所檚 been uncertainty about if and when he could begin larger-scale layoffs.

害羞草研究所淚 do think there will be a lot of layoffs,害羞草研究所� 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 platform害羞草研究所檚 longtime struggles trying to turn a profit. But Musk might also want as quickly as possible to weed out employees who don害羞草研究所檛 believe in his mission so that those who stay feel more secure.

害羞草研究所淵ou don害羞草研究所檛 want to have frantically scared employees working for you,害羞草研究所� Faulkner said. 害羞草研究所淭hat doesn害羞草研究所檛 motivate people.害羞草研究所�

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 Musk害羞草研究所檚 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 害羞草研究所渁 hugely important company and can have great impact on the world and Elon is the person to make it happen.害羞草研究所�

Jason Calacanis, the venture capitalist who tweeted the poll about whether users would pay for verification, said over the weekend he is 害羞草研究所渉anging out at Twitter a bit and simply trying to be as helpful as possible during the transition.害羞草研究所�

Calacanis said the team already 害羞草研究所渉as a very comprehensive plan to reduce the number of (and visibility of) on the platform.害羞草研究所� And in the Twitter poll, he asked if users would pay between $5 and $15 monthly to 害羞草研究所渂e verified & get a blue check mark害羞草研究所� 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 wasn害羞草研究所檛 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. Musk害羞草研究所檚 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 didn害羞草研究所檛 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 Twitter害羞草研究所檚 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 害羞草研究所渃ontent moderation council害羞草研究所� with diverse viewpoints is put in place. He later qualified that remark, tweeting 害羞草研究所渁nyone suspended for minor & dubious reasons will be freed from Twitter jail.害羞草研究所�

The head of a cryptocurrency exchange that invested $500 million in Musk害羞草研究所檚 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.

害羞草研究所淲e want to make sure that crypto has a seat at the table when it comes to free speech,害羞草研究所� Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao told CNBC on Monday. 害羞草研究所淎nd there are more tactical things, like we want to help bring Twitter into Web3 when they害羞草研究所檙e ready.害羞草研究所�

He said cryptocurrency could be useful for solving some of Musk害羞草研究所檚 immediate challenges, such as the plan to charge a premium membership fee for more users.

害羞草研究所淭hat can be done very easily, globally, by using cryptocurrency as a means of payment,害羞草研究所� he said.

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Associated Press Writer Randall Chase contributed to this story.

Matt O害羞草研究所檅rien And Barbara Ortutay, The Associated Press

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