Twitter is now owned by Elon Musk — here's a brief history its founding in 2006 to the present

A decennary ago, Twitter's aboriginal was looking bright. The institution was benefiting from a flood of backing into the social-networking space, yet starring to an IPO successful 2013 that raised $1.8 billion.

Now the institution is backmost successful backstage hands. And they hap to beryllium the hands of Elon Musk, the richest idiosyncratic successful the satellite and 1 of the app's astir high-profile provocateurs.

It's a monolithic moment. Twitter has go a cardinal spot for radical to debate, gag and pontificate successful their ain circles of politics, sports, tech and finance. It's besides served arsenic a level that gives dependable to the voiceless, helping protesters signifier and explicit themselves successful repressed regimes astir the world.

In caller years, however, Twitter and societal media rivals similar Facebook person been astatine the halfway of contention implicit the organisation of fake quality and misinformation, sometimes starring to bullying and violence.

Investors had grown acrophobic astir Twitter arsenic a business. The institution was mostly unprofitable, struggled to support gait with Google and Facebook, and often killed fashionable products with nary existent explanation.

What follows is simply a little past of Twitter, which — contempt its galore flaws — is 1 of the astir iconic companies to travel retired of Silicon Valley successful the past 20 years.

2006

In March, Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone, and Evan Williams created Twitter, which was primitively a broadside task stemming from the podcasting instrumentality Odeo. That month, Dorsey would nonstop the archetypal Tweet that read, "just mounting up my twttr."

2007

In July, Twitter received a $100,000 Series A backing circular led by Union Square Ventures. The app's popularity started to detonate aft being heavy promoted by the tech assemblage during the yearly South by Southwest conference.

2008

Dorsey stepped down arsenic CEO successful October, and was replaced by Williams. According to the publication "Hatching Twitter" by writer Nick Bilton, Twitter's committee fired Dorsey implicit concerns astir the executive's absorption benignant and nationalist boastings.

2009

Twitter's popularity continued to soar, starring to a high-profile appearance from Williams connected Oprah Winfrey's speech amusement alongside personage Ashton Kutcher. Kutcher would besides write astir Williams and Stone arsenic portion of Time Magazine's Time 100 issue. Twitter was present a mainstream phenomenon.

2010

Twitter reached space, with NASA Astronaut Timothy Creamer sending the archetypal tweet unrecorded from outer orbit. Behind the scenes, however, absorption woes continued with Williams stepping down arsenic CEO, replaced by operating main Dick Costolo.

2011

Twitter became an indispensable societal media instrumentality utilized during the Arab Spring, the question of antigovernmental protests passim Egypt, Libya and Tunisia. Protesters utilized the tract to station reports and to organize. As the Pew Research Center noted, Twitter's relation successful "disseminating breaking news" was not "not constricted to the Arab uprisings – the decease of Whitney Houston, for example, was announced connected Twitter 55 minutes anterior to the AP confirming the story."

2012

Twitter's scope expanded to 200 cardinal progressive users. Barack Obama utilized the "platform to archetypal state triumph publically successful the 2012 U.S. statesmanlike election, with a Tweet that was viewed astir 25 cardinal times connected our level and wide distributed offline successful people and broadcast media," according to firm filings.

2013

Twitter went public successful November. The combined wealthiness of Williams, Dorsey, and Costolo deed astir $4 billion.

"I deliberation we've got a tremendous acceptable of thoughts and strategies to summation the slope of the maturation curve," Costolo told CNBC astatine the time. "I would see immoderate of them tactics, immoderate of them broader strategies, successful work of doing what I referred to arsenic span the spread betwixt the monolithic consciousness of Twitter and heavy engagement of the platform."

2014

Slowing idiosyncratic maturation led to several banal drops and expert downgrades. Twitter besides deemed 2014 the twelvemonth of the "selfie."

2015

Compared to rivals similar Google, Facebook, and adjacent LinkedIn, Twitter was starting to look similar the runt of the Internet litter. Twitter was inactive unprofitable arsenic its advertisement concern struggled mightily against its larger competitors. Dorsey would besides return arsenic CEO of the company, portion inactive maintaining the apical occupation astatine his different company, Square (now Block).

2016

Rumors began circulating that Twitter was looking to beryllium acquired, with Salesforce arsenic a imaginable suitor. Meanwhile, Twitter and Facebook were criticized for their relation successful letting salient users similar Donald Trump, who would triumph the U.S. statesmanlike predetermination that year, dispersed misleading accusation without consequence.

"Having the president-elect connected our work utilizing it arsenic a nonstop enactment of connection allows everyone to spot what is connected his caput successful the moment," Dorsey said astatine the time. "We're decidedly entering a caller satellite wherever everything is connected the aboveground and we tin each spot that successful existent clip and we tin person conversations astir it."

2017

For a moment, Twitter appeared to beryllium connected the upswing. Its banal was yet trending upward arsenic the company's finances were improving. Meanwhile, Trump arsenic president continued to usage Twitter arsenic his megaphone. According to Twitter's ain data, "Trump was the most-tweeted-about planetary person successful the satellite and successful the United States" that year, CNBC reported.

2018

Dorsey and Facebook's then-operating main Sheryl Sandberg testified earlier the Senate Intelligence Committee astir alleged interference by Russia-linked actors successful the 2016 election. Trump and chap Republicans became progressively vocal astir alleged governmental bias by Twitter and different societal media sites.

"In fact, from a elemental concern position and to service the nationalist conversation, Twitter is incentivized to support each voices connected the platform," Dorsey said astatine the time.

2019

Analysts recovered correlations betwixt President Trump's voracious use of Twitter and assorted markets, including gold, underscoring the taste powerfulness of Twitter. Trump met with Dorsey — a Twitter spokesperson said "Jack had a constructive gathering with the President of the United States contiguous astatine the president's invitation."

"They discussed Twitter's committedness to protecting the wellness of the nationalist speech up of the 2020 U.S. elections and efforts underway to respond to the opioid crisis," the spokesperson said.

2020

As Covid-19 dispersed crossed the globe, the dispersed of misinformation dominated the online conversation. And Twitter continued to struggle to turn its business. The work was besides hacked that year, and miscreants gained access to implicit a twelve high-profile accounts, including those controlled by Joe Biden, Jeff Bezos, and Musk

2021

Twitter permanently banned Trump implicit inflammatory comments the president made during the U.S. Capitol riots successful January that the institution said could pb to "further incitement of violence." Trump would allege that Twitter workers "coordinated with the Democrats and the Radical Left successful removing my relationship from their platform, to soundlessness me." Later, Dorsey abruptly stepped down arsenic CEO and was replaced by Parag Agrawal, the company's main exertion officer.

2022

Musk took implicit Twitter aft a protracted ineligible spat that would person culminated this week successful a proceedings successful Delaware's Court of Chancery. The Tesla CEO agreed successful April to wage $44 cardinal for Twitter, but past attempted to renege connected the deal. He changed people and opted to proceed, walking into the company's San Francisco bureau connected Wednesday with what appeared to beryllium a porcelain bath descend successful his hands.

"Entering Twitter HQ – fto that descend in!" he tweeted, with a video of his entrance.

Musk instantly began making changes, firing Agrawal, concern caput Ned Segal, and caput of ineligible argumentation Vijaya Gadde.

WATCH: Billionaire Elon Musk steps into Twitter HQ, descend successful hand