Twitter’s audience woke up with a surprise today as Elon Musk decided not to join the social media platform’s board of directors.
Last week, Musk was assigned to Twitter’s Board of Directors after it was disclosed that he owns 9.2% of Twitter’s total shares. The appointment was set to be take effect as of Saturday, April 9th.
CEO of Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) Parag Agrawal announced via Twitter that Musk would not be joining the board after all. The billionaire later tweeted a “Face with hand over mouth” emoji, which he eventually deleted.
Agrawal started the tweet: “Elon has decided not to join our Board.” Addressing Musk’s decision, he remarked: “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,” he added.
Some rumors suggest that Musk’s final decision was influenced by the limited number of shares he would be permitted to hold if he were to become a member of the board (a maximum of 14.9%). The billionaire is the richest person in the world and has enough wealth to buy the entirety of Twitter should he wish to.
Elon has decided not to join our board. I sent a brief note to the company, sharing with you all here. pic.twitter.com/lfrXACavvkMusk Recommends Twitter Blue Changes and Option to Pay in Dogecoin— Parag Agrawal (@paraga) April 11, 2022
Shortly before Agrawal’s announcement, Musk proposed changes to Twitter Blue, including the possibility of adding DogeCoin as a payment method.
Twitter Blue was launched in June 2021, and is a monthly subscription that provides exclusive access to premium features and app customization to Twitter’s most loyal customers for a small fee. Premium features include ‘Undo tweet,’ the use of verified hexagonal NFT profile pictures, the ability to add bookmarks, and more.
The series of tweets written by Musk, which he deleted early on Monday, started on Saturday and sparked conversation among users. In the thread, he broached topics such as the authentication checkmark, price cuts, banning ads, and the option to pay in Dogecoin.
“Everyone who signs up for Twitter Blue should get an authentication checkmark.”
“And no ads. The power of corporations to dictate policy is greatly enhanced if Twitter depends on advertising money to survive.”
“Maybe even an option to pay in Doge?” Musk shared the suggestions a few days before ultimately deciding not to join Twitter’s board.
On The Flipside
- At the time of writing, Twitter Blue is only available in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.