Elon Musk says buying Twitter is about ‘helping humanity’

Mr Musk’s protracted 44 billion dollar takeover of Twitter is expected to be completed in the US on Friday

Elon Musk expects his takeover of Twitter to be completed on Friday (Brian Lawless/PA)

Elon Musk has said he is buying Twitter to “help humanity” and create a “common digital town square” in a message ahead of the expected completion of his takeover of the site on Friday.

In a statement uploaded to Twitter aimed at the platform’s advertisers, Mr Musk said he was acquiring the platform because he believed it was important to have a space where “a wide range of beliefs can be debated in a healthy manner”.