Elon Musk has publicly stated aspirations of making social media a more free and inclusive place, which may have been a big reason why he decided to purchase a large stake in the company recently.
With a 9.2% stake in the company, Musk now owns more than Twitter’s former CEO Jack Dorsey by a more than four-to-one margin.
Considering his impressive new holdings, many analysts figured that Musk would want more control over the social media platform’s direction.
That may not be the case, in a certain sense at least, based on the latest news of Musk’s decision not to join the company’s Board of Directors.
‘Elon Has Decided Not to Join Our Board’
The news was broken last night by Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal on Musk’s decision.
He said that Musk’s input will still be valued by the company, but he will not hold the formal position of board member.
The full tweet can be read below.
Elon has decided not to join our board. I sent a brief note to the company, sharing with you all here. pic.twitter.com/lfrXACavvk
— Parag Agrawal (@paraga) April 11, 2022
What Are Elon’s Intentions With Twitter Holdings?
As mentioned earlier, Musk has certainly positioned himself in the public eye as a person who cares deeply about free speech on social media.
He said previously that he believes Twitter’s algorithms and codes should be “open source,” even though many have cautioned against it as a security risk.
Now, he is choosing not to participate at a time when the situation calls for more involvement.
Does Musk truly care about free speech on the platform as much as he said he did in the past?
“Given that Twitter serves as the de facto public town square, failing to adhere to free speech principles fundamentally undermines democracy, Musk said recently.
What should be done?” he asked, following up, “Is a new platform needed?”
Currently, the prevailing though is that Musk, the world’s official richest man, simply has too much on his plate with Tesla and SpaceX taking up most of his time.
There is speculation that Musk may continue to buy more stock in the company in an effort to force their hand in adding new features while gaining more power.
He has floated out the idea of adding an edit button, and Twitter seems as if it may be moving in that direction, although the timing suggests it could be a coincidence as well.
Regardless of what happens, Musk’s influence on the platform appears as if it isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
This story will certainly be one worth following in the coming months, as Twitter is so powerful it has the ability to influence journalists’ stories, elections, and the public opinion of some of the world’s most well known celebrities, politicians, athletes and other figures.
What do you think the future holds for Elon Musk and his current role with Twitter?
