Thousands of Twitter employees were ordered to stay home Friday to await a bracing round of layoffs that could see half of the payroll axed as new owner Elon Musk launches his major overhaul of the company.

Twitter's new owner Elon Musk appeared to have deleted a tweet posted on Sunday referencing an unfounded theory regarding the attack on the husband of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at their San Francisco home.

Tesla Inc. (TSLA.O) top boss Elon Musk revealed a 9.2% stake in Twitter Inc. (TWTR.N) on Monday, likely making him the biggest shareholder in the micro-blogging site and triggering a 23% rise in its shares.