By The FirstTesla and Space X Billionaire Elon Musk has decided against joining Twitter’s board of directors. Musk was offered a seat after purchasing nearly 10% of the company’s shares.
“Elon Musk has decided not to join our board,” Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal said in a statement. “We announced on Tuesday that Elon would be appointed to the Board contingent on a background check and formal acceptance. Elon’s appointment to the board was to become officially effective 4/9, but Elon shared that same morning that he will no longer be joining the board.”
“There will be distractions ahead, but our goals and priorities remain unchanged,” Agrawal later added. “The decisions we make and how we execute is in our hands, no one else’s. Let’s tune out the noise, and stay focused on the work and what we’re building.”
According to the Daily Wire, “Shortly after the announcement was made, Musk tweeted out an emoji of a face with a hand over its mouth, which usually means ‘to cover your mouth, not to speak, to mute” and is typically used to “express emotions of rapture, smirk, shy smile, or happiness.’”
Musk later deleted the tweet.
Some pundits believe that Musk made his decision in order to have more freedom to impact change —and potentially buy more of the company.
“Hostile takeover inbound,” Austen Allred, CEO Bloom Institute of Technology, tweeted. “My read of this: (I’m guessing). 1. Twitter board wakes up to realize Elon owns 9% of the company. There’s a path to him taking over. 2. Offers a board seat contingent upon him not buying too many shares. Try to contain. 3. Negotiations break down on term details. 4. ???”
“Since the Board announcement he’s been crowdsourcing ideas and chatting via Twitter. He quickly realized that’s all over as soon as he actually joins the Board and tapped out,” business attorney Matt Bilinsky tweeted.
Musk has been collecting feedback on Twitter using polls to get an idea what kind of change people want to see.
