Elon Musk may be Twitter's largest shareholder for the time being, but according to TMZ, he's turned down an official offer to be a sitting member of the company's board. On Sunday, April 10th, CEO Parag Agrawal shared the news in a statement. "Elon Musk has decided not to join our board. Here's what I can share about what happened," he began.
Agrawal told his team that Twitter's board had many discussions with Musk directly. "We were excited to collaborate and clear about the risks. We also believe that having Elon as a fiduciary of the company where he, like all board members, has to act in the best interests of the company and all our shareholders, was the best path forward. The board offered him a seat."
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Last Tuesday, it was announced that the South African-born engineer would be appointed a seat 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 he will no longer be joining the board."
"I believe this is for the best," Twitter's CEO announced. "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."
When concluding his letter, Agrawal told his employees, "There will be distractions ahead, but our goals and priorities remain unchanged. 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."
As TMZ notes, Musk has been putting his Twitter account to use lately, offering up suggestions for how the company might improve its platform for users, and even suggesting that they should follow in the footsteps of Jeff Bezos at Amazon, who turned a portion of Seattle's HQ into a shelter space for homeless people.
Are you surprised by Elon Musk's decision to turn down a spot on Twitter's board? Sound off in the comments below.
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