Update: Twitter stock has since normalized after markets opened. As of this update, TWTR is trading down just 0.75% at $45.84 per share.
Twitter stock (TWTR) dropped by as much as 8% on Monday’s premarket following Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s decision to decline an invitation to join the social media company’s Board of Directors. The update on Musk’s appointment was shared by Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal on Sunday.
After Musk took a 9.2% stake in Twitter — effectively becoming the social media company’s single largest shareholder — a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) revealed that the Tesla CEO would be appointed as the social media company’s newest board member until 2024. The filing also noted that Musk would be serving as a Class II director.
As per the SEC filing, Musk would not be allowed to hold more than 15% of Twitter’s stock as long as he is serving as a member of the company’s Board. The Tesla CEO’s appointment was then seen as a way for Twitter to avoid being taken over by Musk. With Musk declining a seat on Twitter’s Board of Directors, however, he might be able to significantly increase his stake in the social media company without any issues.
Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal’s update provided some clues about the reasons behind Musk’s decision. He noted that the Tesla CEO “decided not to join our board,” suggesting that Musk was the one that opted to step back from his appointment.
“The Board and I had many discussions about Elon joining the Board, and with Elon directly. We were excited to collaborate and clear about the risks. We also believed that having Elon as a fiduciary of the company where he, like all board members, has to act in the best interests of the company and all our shareholders, was the best path forward. The Board offered him a seat.
“We announced on Tuesday that Elon would be appointed to the Board contingent on a background check and formal acceptance. 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,” Agrawal wrote.
Similar to other publicly-traded companies that he is involved in, Musk’s decision appears to have affected Twitter stock. The social media company’s stock briefly dropped over 8% on Monday’s premarket to less than $43 per share, though it has since recovered. As of writing, Twitter stock has seemingly normalized, trading down 3.53%. This seems to be a rather tempered response, especially considering that the announcement of Musk’s 9.2% stake on Twitter was met by a 27% rise in TWTR stock.
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