Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal said Sunday night that Elon Musk has decided not to join the social media platform’s board of directors.
Musk had informed the Twitter board on April 9 — the date his appointment was supposed to go into effect — that he would “no longer be joining the board,” Agrawal said in a message to staff, which he shared publicly on Twitter. “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,” Agrawal continued in his note. “Elon is our biggest shareholder and we will remain open to his input.”
A Twitter spokesperson declined to comment further on Musk’s reason for not joining the board.
Related Stories
Later Sunday, Musk cryptically tweeted the giggling emoji, but has yet to comment on the news that he is not joining Twitter’s board.
🤭
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 11, 2022
The news of Musk’s board appointment came last week, one day after it was disclosed that the Tesla and SpaceX executive had purchased a more than 9 percent stake in Twitter for about $2.9 billion, making the billionaire the largest outside shareholder in the social media platform.
In a securities filing April 5, Twitter said that Musk would be named to the board as “promptly as practicable,” with a term set to expire at the 2024 annual meeting. The appointment also came with the caveat that Musk would not acquire more than 14.9 percent of Twitter’s stock.
At the time, Musk had received public support from Agrawal and outgoing board member Jack Dorsey, who both praised Musk and welcomed his input on Twitter’s board. But Wall Street analysts debated the kind of impact Musk would have on the social platform, given his less-than-stellar reputation with the SEC and his recent comments regarding “free speech” on the platform.
As of Sunday night, ahead of Agrawal’s announcement, Musk was still tweeting about improvements he wanted to see on the social platform.
Agrawal’s note to staff can be read in full below.
Team,
Elon Musk has decided not to join our board. Here’s what I can share about what happened.
The Board and I had many discussions about Elon joining the board, and with Elon directly. We were excited to collaborate and clear about the risks. We also believed that having Elon as a fiduciary of the company where he, like all board members, has to act in the best interests of the company and all our shareholders, was the best path forward. The board offered him a seat.
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. 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.
There will be distractions ahead, but our goals and priorities remain unchanged. 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.
