Elon Musk has decided not to join Twitter’s board of directors, according to the company’s CEO, Parag Agrawal.
Mr Musk’s appointment was set to take effect on Saturday, following his announcement last week that he had purchased a 9.2% stake in the social media network.
“Elon shared that same morning that he will no longer be joining the board,” Mr Agrawal tweeted.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk is Twitter’s largest shareholder, and the company would continue to welcome his input, he said.
Mr Musk cryptically tweeted a single emoji just over an hour after Mr Agrawal’s revelation. Since then, the tweet has been removed.
The Tesla CEO proposed a number of improvements to the Twitter Blue premium subscription service over the weekend, including lowering the price, prohibiting advertising, and allowing users to pay in the cryptocurrency dogecoin.
Mr Musk recently questioned his 81 million Twitter followers if Twitter was “dying” and if the company’s headquarters should be transformed into a homeless shelter.
He also created a poll asking if the letter “w” should be removed from Twitter, with only “yes” and “of course” as options.
Mr Agrawal said Twitter offered Mr Musk a seat on its board as the company had believed it was “the best path forward”, with board members having to “act in the best interests of the company and all our shareholders”.
However addressing Mr Musk’s decision to decline, Mr 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 or not,” he added. “Elon is our biggest shareholder and we will remain open to his input.”
Elon Musk, as the company’s top stakeholder, owns more than four times Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey’s 2.25 percent stake.
Last Monday, when Mr Musk’s shareholding was revealed, Twitter’s stock rocketed by more than 27%.
The announcement, on the other hand, has angered many Twitter employees. According to sources close to the company, there was concern about how he might affect the social media giant’s ability to monitor content in the future.
