SAN FRANCISCO - Tesla CEO Elon Musk won't be joining Twitter's board of directors as previously announced. The tempestuous billionaire remains Twitter’s largest shareholder.Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal tweeted the news, which followed a weekend of Musk tweets suggesting possible changes to Twitter, including making the site ad-free.
Nearly 90% of Twitter's 2021 revenue came from ads."Elon's appointment to the board was to become officially effective on 4/9, but Elon shared that same morning that he would not be joining the board," Agrawal wrote in a reposted note originally sent to Tesla employees. "I believe this is for the best."Agrawal didn't offer an explanation for Musk's apparent decision.
He said the board understood the risks of having Musk as a member. But it, "believed having Elon as a fiduciary of the company, where he, like all board members, has to act in the best interests of the company and all our shareholders, was the best path forward," he wrote.Musk posted a few cryptic tweets late Sunday, including one showing a meme saying, "In all fairness, your honor, my client was in goblin mode," followed by one saying "Explains everything." Another, later tweet was of an emoji with a hand over its mouth.He now has a 9% stake in Twitter, raising questions about how he might try to reshape the social media platform as Twitter’s biggest shareholder.Musk’s 80.5 million Twitter followers make him one of the most popular figures on the platform, rivaling pop stars like Ariana Grande and Lady Gaga.