Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal announced late Sunday night that billionaire entrepreneur and free speech advocate Elon Musk won't be joining the board after all.
Elon has decided not to join our board. I sent a brief note to the company, sharing with you all here. pic.twitter.com/lfrXACavvk
— Parag Agrawal (@paraga) April 11, 2022
Last week Agrawal announced Musk, who owns a 9.1 percent stake in the social media company, would in fact come onboard.
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
The move was welcomed by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and endorsed by Musk.
Looking forward to working with Parag & Twitter board to make significant improvements to Twitter in coming months!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 5, 2022
I’m really happy Elon is joining the Twitter board! He cares deeply about our world and Twitter’s role in it.
— jack?? (@jack) April 5, 2022
Parag and Elon both lead with their hearts, and they will be an incredible team. https://t.co/T4rWEJFAes
A number of Twitter employees panicked and revolted after hearing the news. As did many in the establishment media.
News of Tesla (TSLA.O) Chief Executive Elon Musk taking a board seat at Twitter (TWTR.N) has some Twitter employees panicking over the future of the social media firm's ability to moderate content, company insiders told Reuters.
Within hours of the surprise disclosure this week that Musk, a self-described "free speech absolutist," acquired enough shares to become the top Twitter shareholder, political conservatives began flooding social media with calls for the return of Donald Trump.
Four Twitter employees who spoke with Reuters said they were concerned about Musk's ability to influence the company's policies on abusive users and harmful content.
With Musk on the board, the employees said his views on moderation could weaken years-long efforts to make Twitter a place of healthy discourse, and might allow trolling and mob attacks to flourish.
Since becoming the company's largest shareholder last week, Musk has been polling users about what they would like to see. He's also made suggestions and tweeted about his own observations about how the platform operates.
Convert Twitter SF HQ to homeless shelter since no one shows up anyway
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 10, 2022
Most of these “top” accounts tweet rarely and post very little content.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 9, 2022
Is Twitter dying? https://t.co/lj9rRXfDHE
Some are now speculating the move is so Musk can increase his shares of the company, something he couldn't do as a board member.
Given this news…@elonmusk is no longer bound to this restriction on ownership. https://t.co/gNFoPhiOer pic.twitter.com/R8Nx3p38hK
— Yashar Ali ?? (@yashar) April 11, 2022
Given Musk's reaction, that may be the case.
??
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 11, 2022