Elon Musk becomes Twitter's largest single shareholder 1:04
(CNN) --
Elon Musk is joining Twitter's board of directors, a move that could increase his influence on the social media platform and comes a day after it was revealed he had become the company's largest individual shareholder. company.
Elon Musk buys 9.2% of Twitter and becomes the company's largest shareholder
Twitter said Tuesday in a regulatory filing that it plans to add the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX to its board of directors for a term ending in 2024. As part of the deal, Musk has pledged not to acquire more than 14.9% of the shares. shares of the company while he remains on the board.
This Monday, Twitter said in a presentation that Musk had bought 9.2% of its shares.
The news came as a bit of a surprise, after Musk had repeatedly criticized the company's policies on Twitter in recent weeks and pondered the need to create a new social media platform.
"Excited to share that we are appointing @elonmusk to our council!" Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal said in a tweet on Tuesday.
"Through conversations with Elon over the past few weeks, it was clear to us that he would bring great value to our board."
I'm excited to share that we're appointing @elonmusk to our board!
Through conversations with Elon in recent weeks, it became clear to us that he would bring great value to our Board.
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— Parag Agrawal (@paraga) April 5, 2022
Agrawal noted that Musk is both a "passionate believer" and an "intense critic" of the company, and that he believed Musk's presence in the boardroom would add long-term value.
Jack Dorsey, co-founder and former CEO of Twitter, also seemed to welcome the news, noting that Musk "cares deeply about our world and Twitter's role in it," and that Musk and Agrawal "will be an amazing team."
Musk tweeted that he is "looking forward to working with Parag and the Twitter Board of Directors to make significant improvements to Twitter in the coming months."
Looking forward to working with Parag & Twitter board to make significant improvements to Twitter in coming months!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 5, 2022
It's not entirely clear what improvements Musk has in mind.
In recent weeks, Musk has suggested on Twitter that the platform doesn't allow free enough expression, and said he should make his algorithm open source.
On Monday night, he also polled his followers on whether they "wanted an edit button," a feature request that has been in the air for a long time, yet divides many Twitter users.
Twitter stocks rise
After soaring more than 27% Monday on news of Musk's stock purchase, shares of Twitter gained another 5% on Tuesday morning.
Twitter became an important part of Musk's personal brand.
He has used the site to connect with his legions of fans and weigh in on everything from Tesla's stock price to current events.
But his presence on the platform has also put him in trouble, for example, when tweets about the possibility of taking Tesla private led to a lawsuit from the Securities and Exchange Commission and a settlement requiring him to pre-review certain tweets about the business.
Musk's presence on the board of directors could be a setback for the plans that Agrawal, who has been CEO of Twitter for less than six months, had for the company.
Who is Parag Agrawal, the new CEO of Twitter?
"Time to break out the popcorn and look at developments in the coming months with Musk on the board," Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said in a note to investors on Tuesday.
He added that Musk's entry to the board could "lead to a number of strategic initiatives that could include a number of short-term and long-term possibilities for the company as it continues to engage in a social media arms race."
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