London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Jul 22, 2025

Elon Musk to get Twitter board seat after becoming biggest shareholder

Elon Musk to get Twitter board seat after becoming biggest shareholder

The appointment comes after the billionaire entrepreneur and meme poster asked Twitter users whether they wanted an edit button for tweets.

Elon Musk has been given a seat on Twitter's board after becoming the company's single biggest shareholder.

The company has informed the US securities regulator that he will join the board as a Class II director.

Shares in the platform surged by a quarter after it was revealed he had bought a 9.2% stake worth almost $3bn, meaning his investment immediately increased by more than Twitter has ever recorded in profits.

The billionaire entrepreneur and meme poster has celebrated the investment by polling users to ask if they wanted an edit button.

It is not clear whether the poll was a genuine request for policy feedback or simply a joke. The poll's options - "yse" and "on" - were typos for "yes" and "no".

As of publication almost three-quarters of the 2.4 million respondents had voted "yse".

Twitter's new chief executive, Parag Agrawal, quoted the post and said: "The consequences of this poll will be important. Please vote carefully." It is unclear whether he was serious.

The immutable quality of posts on Twitter has been a hallmark of the platform ever since its launch in 2006 despite recurrent if muted requests for change.

Mr Agrawal added, of Mr Musk's appointment to the board of directors: "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!"

Mr Musk responded: "Looking forward to working with Parag & Twitter board to make significant improvements to Twitter in coming months!"

The billionaire's investment followed criticisms of Twitter's approach to free speech, after he claimed he was giving "serious thought" to building a new social media platform.

His stake is considered a passive investment which signals he has no demands on a larger slice of the company - although analysts have cautioned it could ultimately lead to Musk becoming more involved with the running of the business.

Musk's use of Twitter has got him into trouble in the past.

He is locked in a legal battle to free himself from the constraints of a deal he made with US regulators in 2018, an agreement that forces him to have his tweets about Tesla pre-approved by a lawyer to avoid breaking rules around the disclosure of market-sensitive information.

The billionaire had signed an agreement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) after he claimed, in a tweet, he had secured funding to take the company private at $420 (£325) a share.

But the billionaire now argues he was coerced into signing the agreement, officially known as a consent decree, due to "the SEC's unrelenting regulatory pressure", according to a court filing.

Musk's legal team has accused the body of trying to curtail his right to free speech.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
×