Elon Musk is not joining Twitter’s board after all, the company’s CEO announced on Sunday.
The surprise news comes just a few days after it was revealed Musk had acquired a 9.2% stake in Twitter to become its largest single shareholder, shortly after which he was offered a seat on the company’s board.
But in a tweet posted on Sunday evening, Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal explained that on Saturday — the day Musk’s appointment to the board was to become officially effective — Musk told the company that he would not be taking his seat.
“I believe this is for the best,” Agrawal said in his post.
Musk’s only public comment on the news came in the form of a chuckling-face emoji in a since-deleted tweet symbolic of his mischievous character, with some likely to see the unexpected development as little more than a trolling exercise targeting a company that he’s long criticized.
“We announced on Tuesday that Elon would be appointed to the board contingent on a background check and formal acceptance,” Agrawal said on Sunday. “Elon’s appointment to the board was to become officially effective April 9, but Elon shared that same morning that he will no longer be joining the board.”
The Twitter CEO’s update came at the end of a weekend that saw Musk busily firing off tweets detailing various changes he’d like to see at Twitter, from the serious to the daft.
They included removing ads from the platform, turning Twitter HQ into a shelter for the homeless as most of its employees now work remotely, and removing the “t” from Twitter.
Agrawal noted that Musk, who has 81 million Twitter followers, is still the company’s largest single shareholder and as a result, the team “will remain open to his input.”
Below is the full statement posted by Agrawal on Sunday:
“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.”
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