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Twitter shares fell as much as 8% in pre-market trading on the news.

Elon Musk backtracks: Tesla CEO won’t join Twitter’s board after all

[Source Images: JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty]

BY Michael Grothaus1 minute read

What a wild week it’s been for Twitter. First, last Monday, Elon Musk announced he’d bought a 9.2% stake in the company, and the next day he announced he’d become an active investor in the company, joining its board. The news saw Twitter shares surge.

But, on Sunday night, it was announced that Musk has backtracked and has now rejected the Twitter board member position. The news of Musk’s decision not to join Twitter’s board was released by Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal on the social media platform. Agrawal’s note, in part, read:

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.

It’s unknown why Musk has declined the offer to join the board especially after announcing he would do so.

When news of Musk’s rejection of the board offer surfaced, Twitter shares fell up to 8% in pre-market trading, according to CNBC. However, at the time of this writing, they have recovered slightly, now down around 3.75%. Twitter shares saw as much as a 25% boost last week after Musk announced he had become the social media platform’s biggest investor. You can read Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal’s full note below.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Michael Grothaus is a novelist and author. He has written for Fast Company since 2013, where he's interviewed some of the tech industry’s most prominent leaders and writes about everything from Apple and artificial intelligence to the effects of technology on individuals and society. More


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