Twitter is appointing Tesla owner, Elon Musk, to its board of directors following his 9.2% purchase of Twitter.
According to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Elon Musk will serve as a class II director until 2024. This is a type of position that can be used as an anti-takeover measure.
In a pair of tweets, Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal announced that Musk will serve on the board of directors and that he is “both a passionate believer and intense critic of the service” hence he would “bring great value to our Board.”
Elon Musk responded via Twitter saying he looks forward “to making significant improvements to Twitter in coming months!”
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. Welcome Elon!
— Parag Agrawal (@paraga) April 5, 2022
“The Company will appoint Mr. Musk to the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Board”) to serve as a Class II director with a term expiring at the Company’s 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders,” the filing says.
“For so long as Mr. Musk is serving on the Board and for 90 days thereafter, Mr. Musk will not, either alone or as a member of a group, become the beneficial owner of more than 14.9% of the Company’s common stock outstanding at such time, including for these purposes economic exposure through derivative securities, swaps, or hedging transactions.”
On Monday, Musk announced via an SEC filing that he’d purchased a 9.2 percent stake in Twitter, despite his complaints about free speech on the platform. Musk’s acquisition makes him the largest individual shareholder in the company. Shortly after making that disclosure, Musk polled followers about creating an “edit” button. Agrawal replied by tweeting “the consequences of this poll will be important,” and he warned users to “vote carefully.”
Looking forward to working with Parag & Twitter board to make significant improvements to Twitter in coming months!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 5, 2022
Jack Dorsey, the former CEO of Twitter, expressed that he’s “happy” that Musk is joining the Twitter board, citing that “he cares deeply about our world and Twitter’s role in it.”
I’m really happy Elon is joining the Twitter board! He cares deeply about our world and Twitter’s role in it.
Parag and Elon both lead with their hearts, and they will be an incredible team. https://t.co/T4rWEJFAes
— jack⚡️ (@jack) April 5, 2022