Elon Musk Will NOT Join Twitter's Board Of Directors After All

It seems Elon Musk is not joining the Twitter Board of Directors after all.

Exactly one week ago, CNBC had reported that the Tesla founder had secured a 9.2% passive stake in Twitter, making him the largest shareholder in the social media giant. The following day, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Musk agreed not to purchase more than 14.9% of Twitter’s stock in exchange for a seat on Twitter’s Board of Directors.

Apparently, on Saturday, April 9, Musk decided that he would not like to join the Board of Directors after all, as per The Hollywood Reporter.

On Saturday, the same day that Musk complained about Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber not using the streaming service as often as they could, he informed the company that he would “no longer be joining the board.”

In a message to staff, Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal sent out a message to staff, saying, “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.”

He added, “Elon is our biggest shareholder and we will remain open to his output.”

Musk himself did not comment on why he decided not to join the board after all, but he did tweet a giggling face emoji on Sunday night to further add to the confusion. In an April 5 securities filing, Musk was supposed to be named to the board as “promptly as practicable” with his term set to expire in 2024.

The Hollywood Reporter published the full letter from Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal, including his note about how they were “clear about the risks.”

“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.”