Elon Musk Joins Twitter Board After Acquiring 9.2% Stake
Elon Musk will join Twitter’s board of directors after taking a 9.2% stake in the social media company. The news sent shares up more than 6% on Tuesday morning.
“Through conversations with Elon in recent weeks, it became clear to us that he would bring great value to our Board,” CEO Parag Agrawal said in a tweet on Tuesday.
“He’s both a passionate believer and intense critic of the service which is exactly what we need on Twitter, and in the boardroom, to make us stronger in the long-term,” he added.
Former chief Jack Dorsey praised the move, saying in a tweet Musk “cares deeply about our world and Twitter’s role in it.”
Musk’s term is set to expire in 2024, according to a filing with the SEC. For his entire board term or 90 days after, Musk cannot be the beneficial owner of more than 14.9% of the company’s common stock outstanding.
Musk’s purchase comes after a bout of criticism aimed at the social media company.
The outspoken Tesla CEO polled people on Twitter last month about whether it adheres to free speech principles. He added that he was considering building a new social media platform.
After he was named to the board, Musk on Tuesday teased he would push for adjustments to the product.
“Looking forward to working with Parag & Twitter board to make significant improvements to Twitter in coming months!” Musk said in a tweet.
Musk’s stake, while the largest among outside shareholders, is considered a passive interest, which often means the holder isn’t trying to control or influence the company. Still, some investors expected Musk to take an aggressive stance. After the stake was revealed on Monday, investors pushed the stock up 27%, the mark its best day since its IPO.
Hours after his holding in the company was revealed, Musk took to Twitter to poll users on interest in an edit button. Agrawal retweeted the post, urging people to “vote carefully” as the consequences “will be important.”
Musk’s investment comes at a key time for the social media company. Agrawal, who took over from Dorsey in November, has said he would focus on metrics and accelerate Twitter’s work to bring new products to customers.
He’s also under pressure to reach the company’s aggressive internal goals, including growing Twitter to 315 million monetizable daily active users by the end of 2023. Twitter reported 217 million monetizable daily active users in its most recent quarter.
(CNBC)
