NEW YORK — Elon Musk will join Twitter’s board of directors, the social network’s chief executive announced Tuesday, a day after the Tesla boss bought a large stake in the company and became its largest shareholder.
“I am pleased to announce that we are appointing @elonmusk to our Board of Directors! Through discussions with Elon over the past few weeks, we realized he would bring great value to our Board of Directors,” said said Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal in a tweet.
He called Musk “an ardent believer and fierce critic of service, which is exactly what we need” in the company.
Musk, currently the richest man in the world and with more than 80 million followers on the microblogging platform, announced on Monday the purchase of 73.5 million shares, or 9.2% of Twitter common stock.
The billionaire is a frequent user of the platform, regularly mixing incendiary and controversial statements about current events or other public figures with remarks ranging from the fanciful to the business.
He has also repeatedly fought with federal securities regulators, who cracked down on his use of social media after an alleged failed attempt to take Tesla private in 2018.
Musk has criticized Twitter for its approach to free speech and last month launched a poll asking if the network adheres to the principle – to which a majority of respondents voted no.
Musk will remain on Twitter’s board until the company’s annual meeting in 2024, and he has pledged to hold no more than 14.9% of the company’s equity during that time, a filing shows.
- AFP/Editor
