Elon Musk Backs Out

‘This is for the best’

A week ago, we learned that Elon Musk had purchased a big stake in Twitter. Shortly after, the billionaire chief of Tesla — and Twitter power user — was invited to join the social media company’s board.

Late last night, Twitter announced that Musk would not join the board after all, another unexpected twist in an increasingly convoluted saga. Twitter’s shares fell in premarket trading, although they remain higher than before Musk’s stake was first revealed.

What is going on?

“I believe this is for the best,” Twitter’s C.E.O., Parag Agrawal, said in a short statement on the U-turn. But in offering him a seat, he said Twitter’s board had decided that having Musk on the board, where fiduciary duties as a director would require him “to act in the best interests of the company and all our shareholders,” was “the best path forward.” That said, “we will remain open to his input,” Agrawal said of Musk.

On the morning he was supposed to join the board, Musk told Twitter he wouldn’t, Agrawal said. That was Saturday, and no specific reason was given — Agrawal noted that Musk’s appointment was contingent on a background check and formally accepting the offer. (Musk also needed to fill out a questionnaire given to all directors, according to a filing.) Musk tweeted erratically throughout the weekend, asking his 81 million followers “Is Twitter dying?” and rattling off a stream of critiques in now-deleted tweets, suggesting (with unclear degrees of seriousness) that Twitter should think about removing ads, changing its name and converting its San Francisco headquarters into a homeless shelter.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/11/business/dealbook/elon-musk-twitter-board.html