Elon Musk has decided against joining Twitter’s board of directors. Less than a week after the billionaire received the invitation following the news, he had become the social media company’s largest individual shareholder.
On April 10, Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal announced in a note on the platform that despite conversations with Musk and an enthusiasm to collaborate, Musk turned down the seat.
“Elon’s appointment to the board was to become officially effective April 9, but Elon shared that same morning that he will no longer be joining the board,” Agrawal said. “I believe this is for the best. We have and will always value input from our shareholders, whether they are on our board. Elon is our biggest shareholder, and we will remain open to his input.”
Musk acquired just over a 9% stake in the social media platform, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing released on March 4. He owns 73.5 million shares, totaling nearly $3 billion.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Musk confirmed he would not join the board in an amended filing. However, Musk said he might discuss the company’s services and potential mergers and governance issues with the directors and management. The filing said he could communicate his views about Twitter on social media or speak directly to Twitter officials.
According to a report from Reuters, a seat on Twitter’s board would have capped Musk’s stake at 14.9%, an amount that would have prevented a takeover of the company.
But news of the rejection from Musk has raised new speculations about a possible buyout or a way to avoid more attention from the SEC, the Reuters article said.
Information from a client note written by CFRA Research analyst Angelo Zino and published by Reuters said Musk’s decision to reject Twitter’s board offer might lead to something more significant.
“We had thought the equity cap and board seat was originally intended to handcuff Musk in may respect and think he is unlikely the type of individual who will not just sell his stake and walk away,” Zino said.
The filing detailed by the WSJ said Musk doesn’t have any current plans to change his holdings, but the filing notes he has the right to change his plans at any time.
Reuters reported he deleted tweets he had made over the weekend, including one suggesting the social media platform drop the “w” from its name.
Musk made headlines in the weeks leading up to the shareholder news after posting tweets hinting to his 80 million followers about his social media interest. The Tesla CEO and SpaceX founder joined others who criticized social media platforms for restricting free speech.
Musk posted a poll on Twitter asking for votes regarding the tech company’s principle of free speech. More than 70% of the thousands of respondents answered they did not believe Twitter adheres to the code, as The Dallas Express reported earlier this month.