The internet went crazy this past Sunday in the wake of Twitter announcing that entrepreneur Elon Musk, who has recently cemented himself as the largest shareholder of the company, has announced that he will be declining the offer from the platform to take a seat on the board of the company.
“Elon Musk has decided not to join our board,” stated Parag Agrawal, the current CEO of Twitter, in a release. “We announced on Tuesday that Elon would be appointed to the Board contingent on a background check and formal acceptance. Elon’s appointment to the board was to become officially effective 4/9, but Elon shared that same morning that he will no longer be joining the board.”
“There will be distractions ahead, but our goals and priorities remain unchanged,” added Agrawal at a later time. “The decisions we make and how we execute is in our hands, no one else’s. Let’s tune out the noise, and stay focused on the work and what we’re building.”
directly in the wake of the announcement being made, Musk sent out a tweet showing an emoji with a hand covering its mouth, which normally means “to cover your mouth, not to speak, to mute” and more often than not is used to “express emotions of rapture, smirk, shy smile, or happiness.”
Musk has since deleted the tweet in question, but not before a screenshot was snagged.
Elon Musk deleted this cryptic tweet after it was announced he won’t be joining Twitter’s board of directors… pic.twitter.com/kmag7cprMp
— Joseph A. Wulfsohn (@JosephWulfsohn) April 11, 2022
Once he had taken the title of top shareholder by buying up a block of more than 9% of the company, Musk signed an agreement with Twitter that sported the following terms as long as he sat on the platforms board: “Mr. Musk agrees that, for so long as Mr. Musk is serving on the Board and for 90 days thereafter, Mr. Musk will not, either alone or as a member of a group, become the beneficial owner of more than 14.9% of Company’s common stock outstanding at such time, including for these purposes economic exposure through derivative securities, swaps or hedging transactions.”
As a consequence of not taking the seat on the board, he will not be bound by these restrictions whatsoever about how much of the company he is allowed to purchase.
“Hostile takeover inbound,” predicted the CEO of Bloom Institute of Technology, Austen Allred, in a tweet. “My read of this: (I’m guessing). 1. Twitter board wakes up to realize Elon owns 9% of the company. There’s a path to him taking over. 2. Offers a board seat contingent upon him not buying too many shares. Try to contain. 3. Negotiations break down on term details. 4. ???”
One business attorney, Matt Bilinsky, seemed to suggest that the reason Musk refused to join the board of directors for Twitter was due to the fact that he would have not been able to say anything publically about the company. “Since the Board announcement he’s been crowdsourcing ideas and chatting via Twitter,” he stated in a tweet. “He quickly realized that’s all over as soon as he actually joins the Board and tapped out.”
I’d bet anything it was this.
Since the Board announcement he’s been crowdsourcing ideas and chatting via Twitter.
He quickly realized that’s all over as soon as he actually joins the Board and tapped out. https://t.co/NDolsbF9tO
— Matt Bilinsky (@mattbilinsky) April 11, 2022
“One board seat doesn’t translate to much power,” stated another account. “Only if you have majority control can you fire management and change a company’s direction. Seems like this was lost on many people. Musk may want more than 15%. If so, the poison pill plan is underway to block him.”
One board seat doesn’t translate to much power. Only if you have majority control can you fire management and change a company’s direction. Seems like this was lost on many people. Musk may want more than 15%. If so, the poison pill plan is underway to block him.
— FischerKing (@FischerKing64) April 11, 2022
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