Last week it was revealed that Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the richest man on Earth, bought a whopping 9.2% stake in the social media platform Twitter, worth more than $3 billion. The news even caused the dogecoin (DOGE) price to rise sharply, albeit for a short time.
Musk then spent days writing on Twitter about his plans with the platform and about joining Twitter’s board of directors. The joining was supposed to take place last weekend, but suddenly fell through.
Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal, who took over from Jack Dorsey late last year, reports on April 11 that Musk’s appointment had actually already been approved. However, on the same day Musk sent a letter that he will not join the council after all:
Elon has decided not to join our board. I sent a brief note to the company, sharing with you all here. pic.twitter.com/lfrXACavvk
— Parag Agrawal (@paraga) Apr 11, 2022
“We were delighted to be working together and were clear about the risks. We also believed that as a fiduciary of the company where he, like all board members, must act in the best interests of the company and all our shareholders, was the best way forward.
Elon’s appointment to the board of directors would officially take effect on 4/9, but Elon announced that same morning that he will no longer be serving on the board. I think this is the best.”
Unclear why Musk is withdrawing
Said Agrawal, who gives no further explanation. It’s unclear why Musk is suddenly making a complete turnaround. Rumors have circulated that he refused to undergo a background check, possibly because of past issues with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Or maybe he is no longer allowed as a board member shitposting. A series of Twitter messages from Musk from the past few days have since been deleted.
Another rumor is that he was not allowed to own more than 14.9% of Twitter as a board member while he may be planning to buy a larger share. Reactions to his withdrawal have been divided. A number of Musk fans are lashing out at the Twitter CEO for unclear reasons with racist comments. Due to the news, the price of TWTR is falling. The DOGE price received a boost from Musk last weekend, but that was again short-lived.