Elon Musk, the owner of Tesla and SpaceX, has declined a position on Twitter’s board of directors, just a week after becoming the social media company’s largest individual shareholder. Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal announced the news on Sunday evening.
“Elon’s appointment to the board was set to take effect on April 9, but Elon announced that he would no longer be joining the board that morning. This, I believe, is for the best. Despite whether our stockholders are on our Board, we have always valued their input. Elon is our largest shareholder, and we will continue to listen to his suggestions,” Agrawal wrote.
The new surprise has sparked speculation about anything from a buyout to his efforts to escape more scrutiny from the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Musk was supposed to join the board on April 9 after disclosing a 9.1 percent investment in Twitter, but the position would have limited his holdings to 14.9 percent.
According to reports, Musk had requested a position on Twitter’s board of directors before the company’s invitation. Musk, who is now the company’s largest shareholder, is now free to increase his ownership over that limit as a result of the refusal. In the note, Agrawal stated, “I believe this is for the best.” “Distractions will abound, but our objectives and priorities remain constant.”
Elon has decided not to join our board. I sent a brief note to the company, sharing with you all here. pic.twitter.com/lfrXACavvk
— Parag Agrawal (@paraga) April 11, 2022
I’m excited to share that we’re appointing @elonmusk to our board! Through conversations with Elon in recent weeks, it became clear to us that he would bring great value to our Board.
— Parag Agrawal (@paraga) April 5, 2022
I’m really happy Elon is joining the Twitter board! He cares deeply about our world and Twitter’s role in it.
Parag and Elon both lead with their hearts, and they will be an incredible team. https://t.co/T4rWEJFAes
— jack (@jack) April 5, 2022
Musk, whose net wealth is estimated to be $274 billion (approximately R4 trillion) by Forbes, merely replied on Twitter with a face with a hand-over-mouth emoticon. Musk appears to have removed the tweet and several others over the weekend, featuring his musings on eradicating adverts and a checkmark for $3-a-month Twitter users.
Musk, who has been critical of Twitter and calls himself a free-speech absolutist, revealed the stake on April 4 and said he expected to make major improvements to the social media platform. The news has sparked a flurry of speculation about his plans, which range from a complete takeover of the platform to a direct engagement in corporate decisions.