Elon Musk has rejected a seat on Twitter’s board, opening the door for a potential hostile takeover of the social media company.
The last week has been a trying one for Twitter, with the Tesla CEO calling out the platform, posting polls about possible features, and even asking if his followers thought Twitter should be replaced. Musk purchased a nearly 10% stake in the company, making him the largest shareholder and sparking fears he might engage in a hostile takeover. Twitter ultimately offered Musk a seat on the board, a seat that would have prohibited him from owning more than 14.9%. Despite initially accepting the offer, Musk has reject the seat.
Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal disclosed the news in a tweet:
“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.”
Only time will tell what Musk is planning. Without the constraints of being a board member, it’s entirely possible the tech mogul will make a play for ownership of the company.
Agrawal seems to know there’s still a rough road ahead, if his comment about ‘tuning out the noise’ is any indication.
