Elon Musk will (unsurprisingly) join Twitter's board of directors after becoming the company's biggest shareholder, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing dated Monday.
Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal said the company spent weeks talking with Musk about the decision. "It became clear to us that he would bring great value to our Board," Agrawal tweeted Tuesday morning.
"He’s both a passionate believer and intense critic of the service which is exactly what we need on @Twitter, and in the boardroom, to make us stronger in the long-term," he added in a Twitter thread.
Agrawal's observation is correct: Musk is Twitter's biggest fan and biggest headache. He's weighed in on everything from whether Twitter should have an edit button (which Agrawal notably responded to) to the platform's algorithm. Musk went so far as to say he'd seriously consider launching his own social media platform after questioning whether Twitter adheres to principles of "free speech" as he sees them. Now, he has a front row seat to Twitter's decision-makers, and can just talk to these people instead of shitposting to the world about it.
"Looking forward to working with Parag & Twitter board to make significant improvements to Twitter in coming months!" Musk responded to Agrawal.
News of Musk joining the board came shortly after he revealed his massive stake — more than 9% — in the company. It’s highly likely Twitter was aware of Musk’s accumulation of shares before he made it public. If he didn't inform the company directly, large institutional shareholders unloading their stakes would likely have tipped the company off.
Climate TRACE's data show emissions at the facility-level.Image: Climate TRACE