Elon Musk has declined a seat on Twitter’s board of directors, a recent Securities and Exchange (SEC) filing and company announcement confirmed. This does not mean the Tesla Motors and SpaceX CEO has abandoned the microblogging website. In fact, he might be live-tweeting a gradual coup of one of the world’s largest social media platforms. Now that he is no longer confined to owning 14.9% of the business in exchange for an influential role, there is widespread speculation that this could be the beginning of a hostile takeover by Musk.
Take a Seat? No Thank You
Elon Musk fanboys were disappointed to learn that the Dogefather, Technoking, and the great meme general would not be sitting on Twitter's board of directors after he purchased a 9.2% stake in the corporation. Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal made the confirmation in an April 10 statement, clarifying that the company was "excited to collaborate," and will continue to listen to his recommendations.
Does this mean that the dreams of Twitter's name being changed to "Titter" - as per Musk's tongue-in-cheek suggestion - and transforming its headquarters into a homeless shelter in San Francisco, CA are over? Not quite.
A different SEC filing submitted on April 9, the day he was supposed to be officially appointed to the board, revealed that while he does not have "present plans or intentions to buy more Twitter shares," Musk does reserve "the right to change his plans at any time" after evaluating several factors, such as "potential business combinations and strategic alternatives, the business, operations, capital structure, governance, management, strategy of the Issuer and other matters concerning the Issuer."
(Photo by Michael A. McCoy/Getty Images)
These words have ignited growing speculation that Musk might be planning a gradual takeover. With a war chest of $200 billion and the limitations of a board seat tossed into the trash receptacle, he can essentially do what he wants. In other words, he could increase his stockpile of 73.5 million shares in the future.
Experts are split on whether this is a good or bad decision for either Twitter or Elon Musk. First, a board seat would have essentially tied his hands from seizing greater control of the tech titan. Second, by being an investor with an enormous net worth and a "free speech absolutist" attitude, Musk is a rogue and activist investor, something that could give executives a migraine. Third, there would have inevitably been a public dispute between Musk and Agrawal, which might have disrupted operations and impacted stock performance in the future. Fourth, market analysts contend that Musk could lead a crusade of change by regularly tweeting to his more than 81 million followers and generating press through this avenue, forcing executives’ hands to enact change.
Drama Triggers Snowflakes?
The corporate drama unfolding at the social media juggernaut has personnel "super stressed," according to employees speaking to Bloomberg. Staff members are reportedly "working together to help each other get through the week," adding that Musk is possibly "just getting started," which could turn out to be a "s--t show."
"Musk’s immediate chilling effect was something that bothered me significantly,” Rumman Chowdhury, a director on Twitter’s AI research team, tweeted. "Twitter has a beautiful culture of hilarious constructive criticism, and I saw that go silent because of his minions attacking employees."
No One Can Tame Him
The SEC filing and the subsequent corporate announcement prove that Elon Musk can do what he wants and whenever he desires. America’s richest man is beholden to no one, making him a threat to everyone. Is Musk the real deal? It is hard to label anything he says as disingenuous or mendacious. Why would a pioneer in electric vehicles encourage the world to produce more oil and gas? Why would a beneficiary of more lavish government spending urge the state to abandon Build Back Better due to inflation concerns? Why would he champion free speech when Musk can garner international headlines for tweeting an emoji?
In the end, Musk is a free man not in the pocket of globalists or politicians, and this is what makes him a threatening force.
