Over the previous few months, the world’s wealthiest individual went from being one of many loudest voices on Twitter to the corporate’s largest shareholder and board member. That transition has left workers and analysts guessing about Musk’s plans for the $37 billion firm. It additionally places a highlight on Twitter’s principally quiet board, which can now should deal with the mercurial celeb businessman.
“He’s launched rockets into area. And helped remedy the world’s vitality disaster,” mentioned Matt Navarra, social media marketing consultant and business analyst. “He’s about to find tackling content material moderation on social media platforms is tougher than each these issues.”
Musk might be an uncommon addition to the Twitter board. He isn’t an professional in promoting, which is how Twitter makes cash, and he has a behavior of tangling with regulators, who’re a fixed concern for any massive social media platform. Jack Dorsey, Twitter’s former chief govt, is about to depart the board later this 12 months when his time period expires. Not like Dorsey and Musk, the remaining 10 board members preserve comparatively low profiles. They don’t tweet almost as usually, and one hasn’t tweeted in any respect.
Shares of Twitter have jumped greater than 17% since Musk disclosed his holdings, an indication that buyers imagine that he could have each the inclination and the affect to assist the corporate hit its formidable progress targets. Final 12 months, beneath stress from activist investor Elliott Administration Corp., Twitter set a objective of reaching 315 million day by day energetic customers and doubling its income by the top of 2023.
However some analysts doubt that the form of publicity that follows Musk might be good for Twitter. “This acquisition doesn’t change what Twitter wants,” mentioned Tom Forte, senior analysis analyst at D.A. Davidson. “It will increase its stature and profile, however that hasn’t been the place Twitter has come up brief.”
The story of Twitter’s management up till this level is an eventful one. Dorsey, a Twitter co-founder, began his second stint as its CEO in 2015, when the board consisted of principally Silicon Valley insiders, and just one lady. He pushed to diversify Twitter’s administrators, and the next 12 months the corporate changed two early buyers on its board with PepsiCo Inc. govt Hugh Johnston and Martha Lane Fox, a British web entrepreneur. In an announcement, a Twitter spokesperson mentioned, “We have been open about the necessity to diversify our board, and that dedication nonetheless stands at this time.” The corporate has added two feminine members within the final two years.
In 2020, as Twitter’s inventory value languished, activist investor Elliott Administration focused the corporate—and Dorsey particularly. Elliott pushed for Dorsey’s ouster, complaining that he was additionally working Sq., one other public firm. In March of 2020, Elliott took a board seat at Twitter, as did non-public fairness agency Silver Lake. Elliott was represented by Jesse Cohn (who left final 12 months), and Silver Lake by Egon Durban. Dorsey appeared to have gained a reprieve, however in 2021, he stepped down as CEO, handing the reins to Parag Agarwal, Twitter’s chief technologist. On the similar time, Salesforce.com Inc. govt Bret Taylor turned the board chairman.
Regardless of all that upheaval, the board’s most chaotic period could also be but to come back. Musk’s “appointment to Twitter’s board could be very prone to carry controversy and theatrics,” Navarra mentioned.
Musk, 50, has dropped some hints about his plans at Twitter. Since Jan. 31, when he quietly started buying Twitter shares, Musk criticized the corporate for “failing to stick to free speech rules.” Extra just lately, he promised that Twitter’s subsequent board assembly “is gonna be lit.” He added a picture exhibiting him smoking marijuana on Joe Rogan’s podcast, an incident that prompted a Pentagon evaluation. (Musk additionally runs Area Exploration Applied sciences Corp., a authorities contractor.)
Some analysts count on that Musk will play an energetic position in Twitter’s product growth and coverage strikes—together with, probably, its choice to take away Donald Trump from the platform completely in 2021. (Fb and YouTube briefly froze the previous president’s account.) Musk “might attempt to persuade the corporate to take it somewhat simpler on content material moderation,” mentioned Ali Mogharabi, senior fairness analyst at Morningstar Funding Service, who predicted that the billionaire would push to reactivate Trump’s account. Nevertheless, it’s unclear how a lot energy Musk might exert over that call as a lone board member controlling a few tenth of the corporate.
A number of Twitter workers mentioned they have been involved about Musk’s positions on content material moderation, in addition to allegations of racism at a Tesla manufacturing unit. The workers requested to not be recognized discussing non-public firm info. One other Twitter staffer referred to as these upset about Musk’s appointment a “loud minority.” Most individuals at Twitter discovered that Musk would get a board seat solely minutes earlier than the transfer was introduced publicly, in accordance with a number of folks on the firm. Musk will area questions straight from workers when he joins Agrawal at an organization all-hands assembly subsequent week.
Any longer, staffers could get a extra detailed take a look at decision-making at Twitter by way of Musk’s personal feed. Boards regularly restrict how a lot their members can converse concerning the firm, and infrequently “have codes of conduct and confidentially agreements,” mentioned Karen Brenner, govt director of legislation and enterprise initiatives at New York College’s enterprise faculty. However these constraints possible gained’t work for Musk, Brenner mentioned. “He has proven that he believes he can converse as freely as he desires and flout no matter guidelines are in place.”
No matter mysteries encompass Musk’s plans for Twitter, they most likely gained’t keep mysterious for lengthy.
This story has been revealed from a wire company feed with out modifications to the textual content. Solely the headline has been modified.
Supply: Live Mint