According to a regulatory filing, the CEO and Technoking of Tesla will serve as a “Class II director” with a term expiring at Twitter’s 2024 annual shareholder meeting.
Elon Musk dominated the news on Monday after buying a 9.2% stake in Twitter for approximately $2.9 billion, making him the company’s largest individual shareholder. The investment, which has already appreciated in value, has also resulted in another benefit: a seat on the social media platform’s board of directors.
According to a regulatory filing, the CEO and Technoking of Tesla will serve as a “Class II director” with a term expiring at Twitter’s 2024 annual shareholder meeting. His appointment to the social media platform’s board comes with the stipulation that he cannot own more than 14.9% of the company while serving as a director.
CEO Parag Agrawal announced the news on Twitter and said, “Through conversations with Elon in recent weeks, it became clear to us that he would bring great value to our 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. Welcome Elon!” Agrawal added.
Musk has been vocal about his concerns that the company is censoring speech and just last month, the billionaire asked his Twitter followers, “Given that Twitter serves as the de facto public town square, failing to adhere to free speech principles fundamentally undermines democracy. What should be done?"
His new position on Twitter's board of directors could spur some policy changes within the company and potentially give its users some say in the boardroom.
Before buying his stake in Twitter, Musk polled his followers, asking if the company “rigorously adheres” to the principle that “free speech is essential to a functioning democracy.” Alongside the tweet, Musk told his followers, "The consequences of this poll will be important. Please vote carefully."
Musk will serve on Twitter’s board alongside ten other members. Currently the company’s board consists of co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey, Salesforce President and COO Bret Taylor, former Google CFO Patrick Pichette, 1stdibs CEO David Rosenblatt, Silver Lake Partners Co-CEO Egon Durban, Stanford Professor Fei-Fei Li, lastminute.com co-founder Martha Lane Fox, former Google Chief Business Officer Omid Kordestani, former White House official Robert Zoellick and Mastercard SVP Mimi Alemayehou.
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