Rachael Davis
@Rachael.Davis · Updated 13 Apr. 2022

According to Chief Executive Officer Parag Agrawal, Elon Musk isn’t joining Twitter Inc.’s board. It was excitedly tweeted less than a week after offering a board seat. It was twitted that the world’s richest man would get a seat, he’s now been forced to backpedal after saying Musk declined the offer. It says a lot about the relationship between Musk, Agarwal & the Board, and also the overall dysfunction therein. Musk & Twitter did not disclose the reason for the u-turn. Musk said in a regulatory filing on Monday he could not increase his 9.1% stake in Twitter or plus the company to pursue transactions, even though he has no such plans at this time. The abrupt turnaround of Musk has renewed speculation about his intentions as he is the single largest shareholder at over 9% of the social media giant. Musk did not join the board by the agreement for keeping his stake capped at 14.9%. Musk’s tweets had the social media enthralled after the revelation about his stakes in the company. After that, the announcement about his joining the board sparked a debate with several market watchers tweeting about Musk staying away from the board to avoid conflict of interest if he increased his stake belong the 9% or acquired the company outright.

Peter Clark
@Peter.Clark · Updated 13 Apr. 2022

Elon Musk is the world’s richest man according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He is one of the biggest & most controversial personalities on Twitter. He could face scrutiny from the regulators as he had disclosed his stakes after the deadline the regulators allow. He revealed his stake in a filing typically reserved for passive investment. The Tesla & SpaceX CEO & billionaire have been vocal about the changes he would like to make to the Twitter platform. Musk appealed to users about his prospective move of turning the Twitter Headquarters in San Francisco into a shelter for the homeless. He also wanted to add an edit button on tweets & grant automatic verification ticks for premium users. Musk posted a single emoji with a smiling face & hand over mouth over the explanation by Twitter CEO. It was not the first time that Musk performed a high-profile U-turn. In 2018 he tweeted that there was “funding secured” for a $72-billion deal to take Tesla private, but didn’t move ahead with an offer.

Jane Martin
@Jane.Martin · Updated 13 Apr. 2022

As per the tweet of Agarwal, Musk informed his decision on April 9, the day he was supposed to join the board formally. In an internal memo, the CEO said that, despite the development, the goals & priorities of the company would remain unchanged. Twitter & Musk were supposed to host a Town Hall for employees, & it is uncertain if it will happen. Representatives for Twitter & Musk declined to comment. After the disclosure & joining the Twitter board swiftly would have complicated the process. The Washington Post had cited internal messages on Thursday about some employees being concerned that Musk could damage the company’s work culture & make it harder for employees to do their job. He will have as much influence as a shareholder as he would as a director in this circumstance, simply because of his significant public presence. Some of the changes he could push for are ideological. In particular, Musk has signaled frustration with how the company handles free speech. These are some reasons behind the declination.