Elon Musk Lands on Twitter's Board as a New, Key Shareholder
Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal says Musk will bring "great value" to the social network's board of directors.
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A day after Elon Musk's large stake in Twitter came to light, the social network announced that the Tesla and SpaceX CEO is joining its board of directors.
"He's both a passionate believer and intense critic of the service which is exactly what we need on @Twitter, and in the boardroom, to make us stronger in the long-term," Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal tweeted Tuesday. "Welcome Elon!"
Musk will serve a two-year term on the board, according to a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. During that time, he cannot own more than 14.9% of the company's stock.
Agrawal tweeted that it became clear Musk would bring "great value" to the board during conversations in recent weeks. Musk responded on Twitter, saying he was looking forward to "significant improvements" of Twitter in the coming months.
Musk took a 9.2% stake in the social media site in March, making him the social network's biggest shareholder. Twitter co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey, who is also on the social network's board, has a 2.3% stake in the company, according to The Wall Street Journal. Twitter's stock soared more than 27% on Monday following the disclosure of Musk's stake, closing at $49.97.
Musk is one of Twitter's most prolific users but has also been critical of the platform. On Tuesday, he polled his 80.5 million followers, asking if they wanted an edit button, a long-requested feature that has never materialized. Agrawal retweeted the poll, noting that the "consequences of the poll will be important. Please vote carefully."
Musk, the world richest person, has also stirred controversy and landed him in legal trouble with his use of Twitter. In 2018, he told his 22 million Twitter followers at the time that he was poised to take the Tesla private. The SEC sued Musk for "false and misleading" statements to investors. A settlement was reached in September 2018, which included Musk and Tesla each paying $20 million and SEC oversight of some of Musk's posts on social media.
As of Monday, Musk's shares of Twitter were valued at roughly $2.9 billion. On Tuesday, Musk landed in the No. 1 position on the Forbes annual World's Billionaires List, with a net worth of $219 billion. Musk unseated Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who dropped to No. 2 after spending four years as the world's richest person on the Forbes list.