Elon Musk would not be going Twitter’s board after all. Parag Agrawal, the chief executive of the social media platform, said in a tweet that Musk has decided not to join Twitter’s board. “Elon’s appointment to the board was to become officially effective 4/9 (April 9), but Elon shared that same morning that he will no longer be joining the board. I believe this is for the best,” Agrawal said in a note to the company, which he also shared in a tweet Monday. “Elon is our biggest shareholder and we will remain open to his input,” he added. Shortly after the announcement, Musk tweeted a grinning face emoticon without saying anything.
Twitter’s chief executive said the company’s board had discussions about Musk’s appointment last week and he was to join his duties as a board member on Saturday. However, Musk conveyed his decision to not join the board the same day. “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 Musk 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,” Agrawal said in the note.
Agrawal also said there will be distractions ahead and Twitter employees must tune out the noise. He did not specify what the noises were. “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,” the Twitter CEO said.
Last week, Musk had accepted the position and said he would “make significant improvements to Twitter in coming months.” On Saturday, the day Musk was to join Twitter’s board, he suggested changes to Twitter Blue premium subscription service, including slashing its price and banning advertising, along with giving Twitter Blue users a verified account. He also suggested giving Twitter Blue users an option to pay for the subscription in the cryptocurrency dogecoin.
In a separate tweet Sunday, Musk said Twitter should convert its San Francisco headquarters into a homeless shelter since most of its employees are working from home. Amazon founder and former CEO, Jezz Bezos, also responded to the tweet and said the plan has worked out great for Amazon, which also converted its office space into a shelter home. Agrawal’s disclosure of Musk’s decision comes a day later.
Elon Musk disclosed a 9.2 per cent stake in the company, making him the largest shareholder of the Nasdaq-listed company, which had created ripples in the market. Shares had jumped nearly 27 per cent after the announcement. On Friday, Twitter’s share closed 3.75 per cent lower at $46.23 apiece.