Elon Musk isn't joining Twitter's board of directors after all:
Elon Musk's stint on Twitter's board of directors has ended before it even began. The SpaceX and Tesla CEO has scrapped plans to buff his resumé with a seat on Twitter's board, though his status as the company's biggest shareholder will still give him some influence over the platform.
The change in plans was announced by Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal on Sunday night. In an internal note he subsequently posted to Twitter, Agrawal stated that Musk had directly discussed joining Twitter's board with them, and that the board had offered him a seat, but that he pulled out at the last minute on the day he was to be officially appointed.
[...] "We announced on Tuesday that Elon would be appointed to the Board contingent on a background check and formal acceptance," Agrawal continued. "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."
Though Agrawal did not provide a reason why Musk backed down, and Musk has not commented publicly, it's reasonable to speculate that the restrictions placed on Twitter's board members may have been a contributing factor.
Elon Musk Is Poised For A Hostile Takeover Against Twitter:
An incredibly wealthy person quietly accumulated shares in a company some deem undervalued. That investor has gone public with concerns about the firm, questioning everything from its basic revenue model to employee culture, and rejected an offer from the business to join its inner circle and call off the attack.
We've seen where such a scenario ends dozens of times over the past decades: The rich shareholder is perfectly positioned to initiate a hostile takeover of a company. And now that's the reality confronting Twitter after Elon Musk has decided not to take a board seat, a role for him announced with some fanfare last week by CEO Parag Agrawal and founder Jack Dorsey. A day earlier, Musk, the world's richest person, revealed he'd amassed a 9.2% stake in the company, making him its largest shareholder.
"This now goes from a Cinderella story with Musk joining the Twitter board to likely a Game of Thrones battle between Musk and Twitter," says Dan Ives, a Wedbush analyst who covers Tesla, one of two companies Musk runs. (SpaceX is the other.)
Previously:
Elon Musk Will Join Twitter's Board of Directors
Related Stories
Elon Musk will join Twitter's board of directors:
Elon Musk isn't just stopping at buying a stake in Twitter — he'll also have a seat at the table. As CNBCreports, Twitter is appointing Musk to the company's board of directors. He'll be of value as both a "passionate believer and intense critic" of the social network, according to chief executive Parag Agrawal.
An SEC filing shows that Musk will serve as a Class II director (that is, not top-tier) with a term that expires at the company's 2024 annual shareholder meeting. The appointment limits the stake Musk can hold. He can't own more than 14.9 percent of common stock during his tenure, and for 90 days afterward.
[...] It's too soon to say how much influence Musk will have as a director. However, he recently blasted Twitter for allegedly falling short of "free speech principles" and asked the social site's users if they want an edit button. He clearly intends to make his presence felt, not to mention thumb his nose at the SEC for its crackdown against his finance-related tweets.
The pressure on Twitter to talk publicly about how it monitors and removes spam accounts continues to mount.
Reports from CNN and The Washington Post reveal an 84-page whistleblower complaint alleging that Twitter isn't motivated to track the true number of spam accounts and hid security vulnerabilities from federal regulators.
The complaint comes from Twitter's former security chief, Peiter Zatko. Zatko is a well-known ethical hacker with the alias "Mudge." He told the Post that he "felt ethically bound" to report his serious concerns to government agencies. He alleges that he was fired for pushing disinclined Twitter executives to address major security problems—which his complaint suggests "pose a threat" to Twitter "users' personal information, to company shareholders, to national security, and to democracy."
Zatko alleges that Twitter execs were more invested in covering up those vulnerabilities, including cherry-picking and misrepresenting data on spam accounts and security threats to regulators and Twitter's board members.
Previously:
Judge Orders Twitter to Give Elon Musk Former Executive's Documents
Elon Musk Pulls Deal to Buy Twitter
Twitter Reportedly Will Give Musk the Full "Firehose" of User Data
Elon Musk Accuses Twitter of Thwarting His Due Diligence, Threatens to Walk Out of Deal
Twitter Users React to Elon Musk Putting Buyout Deal 'on Hold'
Musk Buying Twitter Is Not About Freedom of Speech
After Musk's Twitter Takeover, an Open-Source Alternative is 'Exploding'
Elon Musk has just bought Twitter
Elon Musk Isn't Joining Twitter's Board of Directors After All
Elon Musk Will Join Twitter's Board of Directors
(Score: 5, Insightful) by ikanreed on Tuesday April 12 2022, @03:08PM (3 children)
Elon is a powerfully annoying person.
On the other hand, Twitter is a powerfully annoying platform that suits him perfectly.
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Tuesday April 12 2022, @03:43PM
Worse things could happen to Twitter than for it to be renamed "Musk Messager". In fact, Twitter always felt like an instant message platform for public consumption. Which may suit him greatly. I just never felt the need to message the whole world about my personal life. I'm also not in a business that would make that advantageous.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Tuesday April 12 2022, @03:56PM (1 child)
Elon Musk promised something and then did not deliver?
Say it ain't so!
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday April 12 2022, @04:41PM
Wrong take on the story, I think.
Musk bought up more Twitter stock than anyone had ever bought up. Twitter took notice, and feared that Musk might take over. Twitter offered Musk a seat on the board, in exchange for an agreement not to buy up anymore stock. Musk mulled that over for a few days, and decided against it before ever being seated on the board.
"If we give you a seat on the board so that your voice is heard, will you agree not to take the board and everything away from us?"
"Lemme think about that - - - it sounds inviting - - - but NO THANK YOU!"
Even if Musk had actually agreed to that arrangement, he could have canceled at any time with a 90 day notice. By not agreeing, he doesn't have to give any notice at all when he buys up another 10 or 20 or 50 or even 90% of available stock.
Always keep your options open.
“I have become friends with many school shooters” - Tampon Tim Walz
(Score: 4, Insightful) by ElizabethGreene on Tuesday April 12 2022, @03:40PM (15 children)
Mr. Musk's board seat included a restriction against acquiring more than 15% of the company's shares. By choosing not to join the board he is not subject to that restriction.
The scuttlebutt is that he'll be able to drive more impact from threatening a takeover than inside. It will be interesting to see if that is true. Candidly, that feels like that's a sign of organizational disfunction.
Personally, as much as I value free speech, I hope he doesn't get deeply involved in Twitter. The SEC is looking for an opportunity to kneecap him; that would be an engraved invitation.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Freeman on Tuesday April 12 2022, @03:47PM (14 children)
His issues with the SEC are his own making. Sure, it may be a bit inconvenient for him to need to moderate his thoughts. The rules are there for a reason, generally to keep people from overtly manipulating stock prices. Which to be honest, is a good thing. Stock prices are volatile enough without the CEO of a company seriously swinging the prices, because he had a bright idea at 2AM.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 4, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 12 2022, @03:54PM
He manipulated the Twitter price before purchasing his 9%. He trashed the platform and the stock dipped. Not deliberately, I'm sure, he was "just asking questions" like a popular Putin mouthpiece and insurrection supporter likes to do. It has been far more profitable for him and Tesla when he directly manipulates the crypto markets, because there the SEC has no jurisdiction.
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Tuesday April 12 2022, @03:58PM (11 children)
I'm a very happy Tesla shareholder.
I also believe Elon Musk should shove a whole bag of dicks up his word hole!
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 12 2022, @04:46PM (10 children)
I understand that's a popular snack among progressives.
https://www.amazon.com/Prints-Assorted-Flavors-Counter-Display/dp/B086T5LVFY [amazon.com]
(Score: 5, Touché) by DeathMonkey on Tuesday April 12 2022, @05:28PM (9 children)
I don't like shrimp chips either. But I don't pass laws forbidding you to talk about them!
(Score: 0, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 12 2022, @07:02PM (8 children)
Oh, really? Isn't that what cancel culture is all about? Punch a Nazi in the face, don't let them talk! And, of course, virtually all Republicans are Nazis, all Trump supporters, any white who isn't Woke, all Christians, all Muslims, and anyone else who doesn't buy into the 69 gender story, anyone who doesn't want to see their sons and daughters mutilated and fucked up with gender reassignments - and the list goes on.
(Score: 5, Touché) by DeathMonkey on Tuesday April 12 2022, @07:23PM (7 children)
"Cancel culture" is just people using their own free speech to call you an asshole on twitter and at worse deciding not to give you money. An activity which is also free speech according to Citizens United.
Meanwhile, teachers may now literally be thrown in jail if they verbally acknowledge the fact that they are gay at work in Florida. Project harder about censorship please.
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 12 2022, @07:50PM (6 children)
Found a groomer.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 12 2022, @09:39PM (5 children)
Grooming is also a popular conservative past time, hence the new legalizing child marriage laws and the massive amount of legal trouble various flavors of christianity are in right now. Tucker Carlson confirmed it, saying a groomer is a rapust that will take care of their victim and he really wanted to make that distinction sound better than a one-off raping. Facts are facts, no amount of rhetoric changes that. Hell, even if Republicans genocided every liberal you'd still be stuck in a culture that defends rapists and encourages pedophilia. Pretending marriage absolves the rapist is one of Tucker's biggest fuckups. Woopsie! #WalkAway
(Score: 0, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 12 2022, @11:03PM
The legal age of consent throughout most of history was the age of puberty. At age 13, two people can consent to fuck each other's brains out. I have no empathy or sympathy for men over 20 grooming their teenage cult wives, burn them at the stake if you wish. A pair of kids who are within a couple years of the same age want to marry? That ain't child grooming, Grover. Pull that stick out of your ass, chill out, and let kids do what kids have always done. It ain't nachural to forbid kids to do what nachure says they should be doing.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by ElizabethGreene on Wednesday April 13 2022, @12:34AM (3 children)
Do you have any source for the " legalizing child marriage laws" anon? The only one I've been able to find is Tennessee Bill H.b. 323 which was criticized because it didn't have a minimum age requirement. That has been corrected in an amendment. A common law marriage is typically interpreted as requiring 7 years of cohabitation, and additionally the TN bill would require consent of both parties. It's a legal stretch to say it enables child marriages because, much to the dismay of 4chan, minors can't legally consent.
The real reason people are squawking about that bill is because it allows state and county officials to file for reimbursement of costs ...
i.e. if a county clerk refuses to issue a marriage license to a gay couple or poly group they won't be on the hook to cover their legal defense costs.
The bill is only two pages long: https://www.capitol.tn.gov/Bills/112/Bill/HB0233.pdf [tn.gov]
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Wednesday April 13 2022, @02:31PM (2 children)
Uhh....pretty sure a marriage without a minimum age requirement IS the child marriage!
You are correct that they amended it because it was totally just an accident how they legalized child brides like that!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 13 2022, @05:33PM (1 child)
Of course you ignore the important bit:
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 14 2022, @06:03AM
'Lisbeth only defending this cause of Tennessee, but everyone else knows what's going on. Child combatants, next? Sell your kids to the military! Think of it as a career, not indentured servitude! (Cucker Tarlson is my chattel.)
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 12 2022, @04:32PM
It was 100% purposeful manipulation. Musk is a criminal and should be sent to prison with 45.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 12 2022, @05:08PM (1 child)
I don't know if Twitter is a good financial investment, but it does remain an important platform for publishing information.
Maybe Musk cares more about the latter aspect than the first since he's already the world's richest man. Twitter could be a much more useful platform for information if they weren't so damn censor happy.
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Tuesday April 12 2022, @05:20PM
Vanity.
The End
(Score: 1, Troll) by Nuke on Tuesday April 12 2022, @06:02PM (3 children)
FTFA :
I guess he failed the background check. They found that he is a delusional megalomaniac, or worse, like everyone else already knew.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday April 12 2022, @07:17PM (2 children)
That's worth a laugh, Nuke! Old Musk Melon smoked a dooby in 2019, and the Pentagon was looking at his security clearance. https://www.pcmag.com/news/elon-musks-security-clearance-is-under-review [pcmag.com] I've not heard the results of that security review, but, obviously, he and his company are still doing government work.
“I have become friends with many school shooters” - Tampon Tim Walz
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 12 2022, @08:28PM (1 child)
Smoking a doobie will put your clearance in jeopardy. They can pull his clearance (assuming he has one) and his company can still do business with the Government.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 13 2022, @02:04PM
Not impossible that he has a clearance, but a canadian/south african? Why would he have a clearance?
(Score: 3, Informative) by Phoenix666 on Tuesday April 12 2022, @08:42PM (6 children)
It must be a difficult time for many to process so many narrative arcs that conflict. Tesla is good because electric cars help you sidestep the Putin price hike on gasoline. Tesla is bad because Elon Musk bought shares of Twitter. Tesla is good because climate change. Tesla is bad because Elon said we should pump more domestic oil. Tesla is good because they're creating more jobs in America. Tesla is bad because they left/are leaving California.
That's just a few that directly involve Tesla.
For me, the only interesting aspect to the Twitter story is that it perhaps answers the question: "Who censors the censors?" Answer: "The guy who buys up the company and fires all the censors outright."
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by tizan on Tuesday April 12 2022, @11:57PM (4 children)
Who owns the censors of a private company ? ...the guy (or those)who owns most of the company.
Let's see if the Musky buys it and if he really remove all censorship...thence we get plenty of teenagers jerking off etc..
People will just run away..remember the russian-roullette or whatever app ..there is that much teenage boys jerking you can
share ! No censorship does not imply active interactions etc...
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Wednesday April 13 2022, @03:56AM (2 children)
Will they? There's a lot of that sort of thing on another platform called the Internet, and not only has it not driven people away, it has drawn many in. There was even a funny song on Soylent some years back about how the Internet was invented for porn.
I read there are also clips of ISIS jihadis beheading prisoners. I have never seen them and have no interest in ever seeing them. But it doesn't keep me from seeking out other content or doing other things on the Internet.
That is, the existence of unwholesome content or views on Twitter doesn't mean you have to see it, and it won't preclude your enjoyment of views or content you do like.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 1) by Retian on Saturday April 16 2022, @01:09AM (1 child)
I don't know if this is the song you're talking about but you certainly reminded me of it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4whyasOT2Q [youtube.com]
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Monday April 25 2022, @01:14PM
That's a good song, too, but the one I was thinking of was this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRgNOyCnbqg [youtube.com]
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday April 13 2022, @05:54AM
https://endsexualexploitation.org/wp-content/uploads/Doe-v-Twitter_FiledComplaint_012021.pdf [endsexualexploitation.org]
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Wednesday April 13 2022, @03:17PM
It's not that hard to comprehend the fact that a good person can do shitty things and a shitty person can do good things.
Well....for people who understand that the world is full of shades of gray anyway....
The black is white god will murder you for love people may struggle with it but the rest of us handle it just fine.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 12 2022, @11:56PM
musk twitter. tesla kwalitee.