Elon Musk has reversed his decision to join Twitter’s board, the company has now said, less than a week after the billionaire Tesla CEO disclosed he is the social media company’s largest shareholder and was offered the seat.
Musk was supposed to serve as a Class II director until 2024. According to sources, this was a type of position that could have been used as an anti-takeover measure.
“The Company will appoint Mr. Musk to the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Board”) to serve as a Class II director with a term expiring at the Company’s 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders,” the filing says. “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 the Company’s common stock outstanding at such time, including for these purposes economic exposure through derivative securities, swaps, or hedging transactions.”
“Through conversations with Elon in recent weeks, it became clear to us that he would bring great value to our Board,” CEO Parag Agrawal had said in a tweet.
Agrawal did not say whether Musk had given a reason for the reversal. He noted that the board appointment was contingent on a background check as well as a formal acceptance by Musk.
“I believe this is for the best,” Agrawal said in a note seen by Techspace Africa. “We have and will always value input from our shareholders whether they are on our board or not. Elon is our biggest shareholder and we will remain open to his input.”
Elon Musk didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.
