SAN FRANCISCO: Tesla boss Elon Musk will join Twitter’s board of directors, the social network announced, a day after the billionaire bought a major stake in the company and became its largest shareholder.
The appointment may temporarily block chances of an immediate takeover bid from Musk after he reported a 9.2% stake, worth about $3 billion. Musk cannot own more than 14.9% of Twitter’s common stock either as an individual shareholder or as a member of a group as long as he is the director of Twitter, the company said in a filing.
“I’m excited to share that we’re appointing @elonmusk to our board,” Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal said in a tweet. “Through conversations with Elon in recent weeks, it became clear to us that he would bring great value to our Board
He called Musk “a passionate believer and intense critic of the service which is exactly what we need” at the company. In response, Musk tweeted: “Looking forward to working with Parag & Twitter board to make significant improvements to Twitter in coming months.”
I’m excited to share that we’re appointing @elonmusk to our board! Through conversations with Elon in recent weeks, it became clear to us that he would bring great value to our Board.
— Parag Agrawal (@paraga) April 5, 2022
Musk has been critical of the social media platform and its policies, and recently ran a Twitter poll asking users if they believed the platform adheres to the principle of free speech.
Musk disclosed a purchase of 73.5 million shares or 9.2 percent of Twitter’s common stock, , which are held by the Elon Musk Revocable Trust, of which he is the sole trustee. Twitter shares surged 6% in trading before the opening bell, after closing up over 27% on Monday.
READ MORE: Elon Musk buys major stake in Twitter
Musk will participate in the director benefits arrangements applicable to non-employee directors and serve as a Class II director, with the term expiring at Twitter’s 2024 annual meeting of stockholders, the company said.
He will also be a board member of UFC-owner Endeavor until June 30 but has exited the board of tech non-profit OpenAI, which he co-founded, in 2018. He is also the founder and CEO of SpaceX, and leads brain-chip startup Neuralink and infrastructure firm the Boring Company.
