Elon Musk not joining Twitter board; CEO Parag Agrawal reveals why

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and now the largest shareholder in the micro-blogging site Twitter, has decided not to join the Twitter board. He owns a 9.2% stake, worth nearly $3 billion, in Twitter Inc

Tesla Inc Chief Executive Elon Musk, who was to officially become a member of the Twitter board from April 9, has decided not to do so, Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal wrote in a post on Monday.

In his Twitter post, Agrawal said, "Elon's appointment to the board was to become officially effective 4/9, but Elon shared that same morning that he will no longer be joining the board." 

"I believe this is for the best. 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.," the CEO added.

Musk on April 4 disclosed a 9.2 per cent stake in Twitter Inc, worth nearly $3 billion, making him the micro-blogging site's largest shareholder and triggering a rise of more than 27 per cent in the company's shares.

Musk's move, revealed in a regulatory filing, came on the heels of his tweet that he was giving "serious thought" to building a new social media platform, while questioning Twitter's commitment to free speech.

He also started a poll asking Twitter users if they want an edit button, a long-awaited feature on which the social media platform has been working. It was followed by Agrawal urging users to "vote carefully".

On Saturday, Musk had suggested changes to the Twitter Blue premium subscription service, including a reduction in its price, banning of advertising and giving an option to pay in the cryptocurrency dogecoin.