Elon Musk is joining Twitter’s board of directors, following his acquisition of a 9.2 percent interest in the social media network, making him its largest single stakeholder.
Musk is barred from acquiring more than 14.9 percent of Twitter’s shares as long as he remains a director on the board, effectively putting a stop to any attempt by the mega-billionaire, who has a net worth of more than $300 billion, to take over the company for at least the next two years.
“I’m delighted to reveal that we’re appointing @elonmusk to our board!” tweeted Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal. During our recent conversations with Elon, it became evident that he would be an excellent addition to our Board.” “He’s both a passionate believer and an intense critic of the service,” Agrawal said, “which is precisely what we need on @Twitter, and in the boardroom, to make us stronger in the long run.” Elon, welcome!”
“Looking forward to working with Parag & the Twitter board to create big changes to Twitter in the coming months!” Musk replied to Agrawal’s post.
Musk has spoken a couple of things about Twitter in public.
In a Twitter poll two weeks ago, the famous tech CEO said that the service, which “serves as the de facto public town square,” is “failing to adhere to free speech values,” which “fundamentally weakens democracy.” He basically asked his Twitter followers if they agreed with him.
Musk polled his 80 million Twitter followers again on Monday evening, this time on whether they want the power to edit Twitter tweets after they’ve been sent, a feature that many Twitter users have long sought. As of this writing, 73.5 percent of the approximately 3 million votes cast were in support of the concept (dubbed “yes” by Musk).
Do you want an edit button?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 5, 2022
Musk’s poll concerning the edit button was quote-tweeted by Agrawal, Twitter’s former CTO who took over when Jack Dorsey quit last autumn, underscoring Musk’s new power at the company. “The results of this poll will have a significant impact. Agrawal wrote, “Please vote carefully.”
Twitter stated in an 8-K filing Tuesday that Musk will be appointed to the company’s board of directors, with a term ending at the company’s annual meeting of stockholders in 2024.
Mr. Musk will not, either alone or as part of a group, become the beneficial owner of more than 14.9 percent of the Company’s common stock outstanding at such time, including for these purposes economic exposure through derivative securities, swaps, or hedging transactions,” Twitter said in the filing.
After surging 27% Monday on news of Musk’s big stake, Twitter shares were up more than 9% in premarket trade Tuesday.
In a note to clients, Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives wrote, “Now it’s time to bring out the popcorn and watch the developments over the following months with Musk on the board.” “This announcement will undoubtedly please Wall Street, as investors will embrace Musk’s good influence, as evidenced by the stock’s reaction yesterday.” We continue to feel that Musk’s increased involvement with Twitter enhances his huge ecosystem and reach, but balancing his essential positions at SpaceX and Tesla should not be a concern for investors at this critical juncture.”