Elon Musk, Twitter’s biggest shareholder, has decided not to join the social media company’s board, its chief executive Parag Agrawal has said.
Musk, who disclosed a 9.2% stake in Twitter just a few days ago, was offered a board seat and his appointment was to become effective on Saturday.
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But Agrawal posted on Twitter that Musk had declined the offer. “Elon shared that same morning that he will no longer be joining the board,” Agrawal said on Sunday.
“I believe this is for the best. We have and will always value input from our shareholders whether they are on our board or not. Elon is our biggest shareholder and we will remain open to his input.”
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
Musk had on Saturday suggested changes to the Twitter Blue premium subscription service, including slashing its price, banning advertising and giving an option to pay in the cryptocurrency Dogecoin.
He also suggested a series of other changes, some serious and others frivolous, such as introducing an edit button and converting the company’s San Francisco headquarters to a homeless shelter.
After the news broke, Musk tweeted a hand-over-mouth emoji.
He has frequently taken issue with Twitter’s moderation policies, having declared last year that “a lot of people are going to be super unhappy with West Coast high tech as the de facto arbiter of free speech”.
In March, after acquiring his large stake in the company but before it was publicly known, he posted: “Given that Twitter serves as the de facto public town square, failing to adhere to free speech principles fundamentally undermines democracy. What should be done?”
Theguardian