Tesla CEO Elon Musk joins Twitter’s board of directors after purchasing over 9% of the company.
Musk has a 9.2% stake in Twitter, making him the single largest shareholder. He has four times more shares than Twitter co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey.
Today, Twitter announced that Musk would be joining its board of directors:
The Board will appoint Mr Musk to serve as a Class II director with a term expiring at the Company’s 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders as described in Item 1.01 of this Current Report on Form 8-K, subject to and contingent upon the provision by Mr Musk of any information that the Company reasonably requires to complete its customary onboarding procedures (including a customary background check) for members of the Board.
Shares in the platform surged by a quarter after it was revealed he had bought a 9.2% stake worth almost $3bn, meaning his investment immediately increased by more than Twitter has ever recorded in profits.
Musk, a regular Twitter user with more than 80 million followers recently, said he is giving “serious thought” to building a new social media platform.
Late last month, Mr Musk asked his followers whether they thought the social media platform encouraged free speech.
“Free speech is essential to a functioning democracy. Do you believe Twitter rigorously adheres to this principle?”
He then asked: “Is a new platform needed?”
The board has taken measures to prevent any hostile takeover moves Musk may try to make. A statement from Twitter says that as long as Musk is on the board, he is not allowed to own more than 14.9% of Twitter:
“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.”
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