Elon Musk Joins Twitter Board After Buying Nearly $3 Billion In Stock

Elon Musk will join Twitter’s board of directors a day after revealing he would become the social media platform’s largest shareholder with a 9% stake.

The billionaire has publicly criticized Twitter for its commitment to freedom of expression. He too ran into trouble on the platform as CEO of Tesla after financial regulators discovered that he had published inaccurate information about the company.

Musk is prohibited from owning more than 14.9% of Twitter’s outstanding shares while sitting on the board, Twitter Inc. said in a regulatory filing Tuesday.

Musk has been talking to the company in recent weeks, and Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal said in a tweet that “it was clear to us that he would bring great value to our Board.”

“He is both a passionate believer and an intense critic of service, which is exactly what we need on @Twitter and in the boardroom to make us stronger for the long haul,” Agrawal wrote.

Musk said he looks forward to working with Agrawal and the board “to make significant improvements to Twitter in the coming months.”

Musk wasted no time weighing in on one of the biggest complaints Twitter users have about the platform on Tuesday night, asking in a tweet if he should add an edit button.

“Now is the time to break out the popcorn and watch developments in the coming months with Musk on the board,” wrote Daniel Ives, who follows Twitter for Wedbush Securities.

Twitter’s board will have 12 members with Musk. Jack Dorsey resigned as Twitter CEO for the last time and his term on the board expires at an upcoming shareholders’ meeting on May 25. Three other board members have terms set to expire but have been nominated to retain their posts.

Dorsey tweeted Tuesday that Musk and Agrawal “both lead from the heart and will be an amazing team.”

“I am so happy to have Elon join the Twitter board! He cares deeply about our world and Twitter’s role in it,” Dorsey said.

After amassing 73.5 million Twitter shares worth a total of around $3 billion, Musk hasn’t specifically talked about any changes to Twitter’s rules that he might push.

In March, Musk told his 80 million Twitter followers that he was “seriously thinking” about creating his own social media platform.

Musk is locked in a bitter dispute with the SEC over his ability to post on Twitter. His attorney has argued in court motions that the SEC is infringing on the Tesla CEO’s First Amendment rights.

Twitter shares rose about 5% on Tuesday.