Elon Musk Wants to Make 'Significant Improvements' to Twitter After Becoming its Largest Shareholder
Twitter working on its new edit button isn't the only big news from the social media giant in the past week. One of its biggest critics, Tesla and SpaceX C.E.O. Elon Musk, recently bought a 9.2 percent stake in the company, as well.
Musk's stake is valued at more than $3 billion, and the purchase grants him a seat on its corporate board of directors.
The news broke out on Monday (April 4), sending Twitter's shares up about two percent. According to a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Musk acquired his stake on March 14.
One of Musk's latest polls on the platform, published just over a week after his acquistion, posed the question: "Free speech is essential to a functioning democracy. Do you believe Twitter rigorously adheres to this principle?"
Out of about two million votes, roughly 70 percent of them said "No."
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. Welcome Elon!
— Parag Agrawal (@paraga) April 5, 2022
Twitter C.E.O. Parag Agrawal affirmed in a tweet that Musk will be bringing "great value" to their board. “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,” Agrawal said.
Musk looks forward to working with the team and is expected to make "significant improvements to Twitter in coming months."
Former Twitter Chief Jack Dorsey lauded the move. In a tweet, Dorsey says that Musk “cares deeply about our world and Twitter’s role in it.” He also revealed that he had wanted the billionaire business magnate to be part of the board for "a long time."
For context, Dorsey, who co-founded Twitter, only has a two percent stake in the social media platform. He left his post as C.E.O. in November 2021 and is set to step down from the board in May 2022 once his term expires.
Musk will be serving as a Class II director until 2024.
