Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk will be joining the board of directors at Twitter. The appointment comes after the billionaire took a 9.2 percent stake in the social media company, which makes him the company’s largest shareholder.
“I’m excited to share that we’re appointing @elonmusk to our board!” announced Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal on Tuesday. “Through conversations with Elon in recent weeks, it became clear to us that he would bring great value to our Board.”
“He’s both a passionate believer and intense critic of the service which is exactly what we need on @Twitter, and in the boardroom, to make us stronger in the long-term. Welcome Elon!” Agrawal added in a follow-up tweet.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveils the new Tesla factory in Fremont, Calif., Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2010. The new Tesla factory is the former NUMMI plant. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
The Tesla CEO will serve as a “Class II” director with a term that expires at its 2024 annual meeting. Moreover, the company says that Musk will not own or control more than 14.9 percent of Twitter shares, according to a report by the Telegraph.
But the billionaire’s Twitter stake does not rule out full buyout, some Wall Street analysts say, reports Fox Business.
While Musk’s stake in Twitter company is considered passive, there are analysts who believe he has more planned for the social media company’s long-term strategy. CFRA Research senior equity analyst Angelo Zino says that a potential all-out buyout of the company could still be on the table.
Last month, Musk purchased 73,486,938 shares of Twitter’s common stock, likely paying around $33 a share or $2.4 billion. As of Friday, the shares were up to about $39, a return of around 18 percent.
Following the disclosure in a regulatory filing, shares jumped another 27 percent to $49.97. Musk’s shares are now up 50 percent from when he acquired them.
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