Elon Musk is no longer joining Twitter Board

In a surprising turn of events, billionaire Elon Musk is no longer joining the Board of Twitter. Last week, We had reported that he was joining the board after it was disclosed that he bought 9.2% stake in the social media company making him the largest shareholder.

Even the CEO, Parag Agrawal tweeted last week that he was “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.”

In a tweet last night, Parag said that the Tesla CEO decided not to join the Twitter board. According to him, “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 contigent 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 are building.”

About over an hour after the Twitter CEO’s announcement, Mr Musk cryptically tweeted a single emoji. He has deleted the tweet.

Meanwhile the Tesla CEO was very active over the weekend suggesting possible changes and asking his over 81.5 million followers their views on the changes.

He suggested that “everyone who signs up for Twitter Blue (ie pays $3/month) should get an authentication checkmark”. He even suggested the conversion of Twitter San Francisco’s Headquarters to homeless shelter since no one shows up anyway”

Musk’s board appointment limited his stake in the company at 14.9%. However now that he will not have a board seat, he is free to continue to invest beyond this figure.

As at the time of this publication, Elon is still listed as a member of the 12-man Twitter board which includes Jack Dorsey, Omid Kordestani, Bret Taylor amongst others.

Elon Musk has not made any further statement on this issue for now.