Elon Musk is no longer joining Twitter’s board, the social media company’s CEO said late Sunday, in a reversal less than a week after announcing the heads of Tesla and SpaceX will be appointed.
Musk was appointed to join Twitter’s board after buying a major stake in the company and becoming its largest shareholder.
“Elon has decided not to join our board,” Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal tweeted. “Elon’s appointment to the board will become effective officially 4/9, but Elon shared the same morning that he will no longer be joining the board,” Agrawal said. “I believe this is for the best Currently, the world’s richest person and with more than 80 million followers on the microblogging platform, Musk last week disclosed his purchase of 73.5 million shares – or 9.2 percent – of Twitter’s common stock.
The announcement sent Twitter shares soaring more than 25 percent.
Agrawal had announced on Tuesday that Musk would be joining the board, describing him as “a man of faith and an intense critic of a service that is exactly what we need.
Musk himself tweeted that he “looks forward to working with Parag & Twitter boards to make significant improvements to Twitter in the coming months In his announcement Sunday, Agrawal shared a note he sent to Twitter, saying Musk’s appointment to the board would be subject to background checks and that he must act in the best interests of the company he has ever appointed.
“We have and will always value input from our shareholders, whether they are on our board or not,” he said, “Elon is our largest shareholder and we will remain open to his input,” added Agrawal. Musk has agreed to limit his Twitter holdings to a maximum of 14.9 percent while serving on the board but could now theoretically increase his holdings beyond that. – Polarizing figure – In apparent reaction to the news, Musk tweeted a grinning emoji, with no other comment.
The billionaire tech entrepreneur is a frequent Twitter user, regularly mixing inflammatory and controversial statements about issues or other public figures with outlandish or business-focused comments. He has also repeatedly argued with federal securities regulators, who cracked down on his use of social media after a purported attempt to take Tesla private in 2018 fell apart.
Musk’s decision not to sit on the Twitter board comes after he tweeted Saturday asking if the social media network is “dead” and calling out users like singer Justin Bieber, who is highly followed but rarely posts. “Most of these ‘top’ accounts rarely tweet and post very little content,” the Tesla boss wrote, captioning the list of the 10 most followed profiles – a list that includes him at number eight, with 81 million followers.
“Is Twitter dying he asked.
In another weekend tweet, Musk posted a poll on whether to drop the “w” from Twitter’s name and turn the San Francisco headquarters into a homeless shelter because no one showed up anyway. He also suggested removing ads, Twitter’s main source of revenue.
An outspoken and polarizing figure, the announcement of his appointment to the board has sparked misgivings among some Twitter employees, according to a Washington Post report. Workers at the California-based social media company cited concerns about Musk’s remarks on transgender issues and his reputation as a difficult and driven leader, according to a statement about Slack reviewed by the Post.
A California agency has sued Tesla, alleging discrimination and harassment of black workers. The electric car maker has rejected the accusations, saying it opposes discrimination.
SKJ