UPDATED with Musk’s since-deleted tweet: Billionaire Elon Musk always has been unpredictable, and once again, he delivered a surprise.
In an about-face just days after Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal tweeted that Musk had joined Twitter’s board of directors, Agrawal tweeted Sunday night that Must won’t be joining the board of the social media platform after all.
“Elon has decided not to join our board,” he wrote, sharing the memo he had sent to the company staff. In it, he noted that Musk, who recently became Twitter’s biggest shareholder, was supposed to join the company 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,” Agrawal wrote. “I believe this is for the best.”
He added that the company will “remain open” to Musk’s input. (You can read the full memo below.)
An hour and a half after Agrawal made the announcement that Musk would not be joining the board, the Tesla CEO tweeted this:
🤭
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 11, 2022
The tweet subsequently was deleted.
Over the past six days, Musk has been polling his followers whether they want a Twitter edit button and whether the company’s San Francisco headquarters should be turned into a homeless shelter. He also suggested that everyone who signs up for Twitter Blue, paying $3 a month, should get an authentication checkmark, among other ideas.
Twitter announced the news of Musk’s board appointment in an SEC filing Tuesday. During his two-year term on the board, and shortly thereafter, Musk was not going to be allowed to own more than 14.9% of the company’s shares. Musk acquired 9% of Twitter on March 14, paying about $2.9 billion, according to an SEC filing on Monday.
“Through conversations with Elon in recent weeks, it became clear to us that he would bring great value to our board,” Agrawal wrote at the time.
Musk responded in a tweet shortly thereafter, “Looking forward to working with Parag & Twitter board to make significant improvements to Twitter in coming months!”
Elon has decided not to join our board. I sent a brief note to the company, sharing with you all here. pic.twitter.com/lfrXACavvk
— Parag Agrawal (@paraga) April 11, 2022
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