WILL ELON MUSK ATTEMPT A HOSTILE TAKEOVER OF TWITTER?
Elon Musk is not joining Twitter board after all. This was revealed in an announcement made on Twitter on Sunday, April 10, 2022 by the CEO, Parag Agrawal. According to Agrawal, in an internal memo which he shared to the public on Twitter, Musk declined the offer to be a board member on the morning of the very day his membership was to become officially effective (Saturday, April 9).
No wonder Musk (who became the world’s richest man in 2021) was trolling the company mercilessly over the weekend as the screenshots below show. In one tweet on Saturday, April 9, he asked if Twitter was dying. In two tweets on Sunday, April 10 (which appear to have been deleted) he conducted polls asking if Twitter headquarters in San Francisco should be converted to a homeless shelter (with options “Y”/”N”), and if the “w” in Twitter should be deleted, giving as options only “Yes” and “Of course”.
I think he has realised that being on the board will not give him the liberty to acquire more shares to have the kind of votes for changing company policy.
Musk couldn’t have bought more than 14.9% of Twitter stock as a board member for the duration of his two-year term and for 90 days thereafter.
But now he can engineer a hostile takeover by buying as much stock as necessary without the cap on board members.
I think Twitter management invited him to join the board to control him via the stock purchase cap. Besides, Musk is seen as disruptive and unconventional like Donald Trump. He doesn’t filter his speech as the rest of the elite do and he is against censorship and wokeism.
So Twitter management was also hoping to be free from the embarrassment of Musk’s constant rants that contradict their policy and the Biden regime’s directives.
The hint to this given in the announcement by CEO Agrawal can be seen in the paragraph where he says the board had many discussions with Musk explaining the risks of being a board member and the expectation that he would have fiduciary responsibilities (that is, act in the best interests of the company and shareholders).
Obviously, the problem is not protecting the interests of the shareholders who are largely concerned with making money as Musk’s purchase of shares gave them their first gain in two years. The problem is that Musk obviously does not support the company’s politics and the hope was that having fiduciary duties will prevent him from attacking it publicly. Well, Musk isn’t having any of that.
In a poll he conducted on the platform on March 25, he had asked if Twitter was upholding free speech, an essential element of democracy. Seventy per cent of the respondents said “No”. In a follow-up poll, he asked: “Given that Twitter is the de facto town square, failing to adhere to free speech principles fundamentally undermines democracy. What should be done?” Twitter users overwhelmingly implored him to buy and reform the platform which seems to have motivated his purchase of the company’s stock. So, obviously he has an agenda that clashes with the prevailing company culture.
Twitter employees and management must therefore be breathing a sigh of relief at the fact that he won’t be on the board because their grip on the control of narrative and opinions seems safe for now.
But we will watch to see what happens next. It will certainly be interesting because on the one hand, Musk did not sink almost 3b dollars into Twitter to let his obvious desire to reform it be pushed aside.
On the other hand, can he achieve his agenda alone? He certainly has the money as his net worth has risen to $273 billion, according to Investopedia. Interestingly, Twitter’s share price which rose by about 27% after he bought his stock and it was revealed he would join the board has begun to tumble with the announcement he will not. If this trend continues, Musk can enlarge his interest in the company at a bargain.
But how about moral support? How can he build a coalition to move forward when most of the elites are so afraid?
And why are they afraid? It’s because the government (the entire political establishment), MSM, BigTech (including these social media giants) are working in cahoots to enforce lefttist authoritarianism and if they launch co-ordinated attacks on someone as they did Trump, how can he hold up?
It’s nice that Musk has started weaning his companies, Tesla and SpaceX, from government subsidies, expanding the input of private capital. His diversification into cryptocurrencies also makes it difficult to easily target his finances. These factors reduce the government’s power over him.
Going back to Agrawal’s announcement that Musk will no longer be joining the board, the last paragraph sounds like a challenge to Musk. It reads:
“There will be distractions ahead, but our goals and priorities remain unchanged. The decisions we make and how we execute is in our hands, no one else’s. Let us tune out the noise, and stay focused on the work and what we’re building.”
Musk doesn’t look like the kind of guy to shy away from a challenge. If he doesn’t take over, he can still dump his shares and thus damage the company’s financial prospects.
So as the popular saying goes, “Let the games begin!”
💖
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In some posts on my Facebook page, Aunty Edith, I covered the background to the subject of this post.
Elon Musk’s poll on whether Twitter upholds free speech
Elon Musk becomes Twitter’s largest shareholder
Twitter CEO announces decision to appoint Elon Musk to board
A shorter version of today’s post was published on Aunty Edith yesterday.
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NYT’s Confirmation of Hunter Biden’s Laptop Story: How the Media Cheat the People
Another Impeachment Conversation: Was there really a case against Trump?
He is so rich,o my God
Elon Musk rejected the offer to be on the board so that he can have the liberty to take control.
He is not the type of guy to shy away from challenges.
You’re right as later events have shown.
Elon musk is equal to the task but him rejecting the offer is just for him to do his things in his own ways
Elon musk is a business tycoon who know the value of investment, he’s so smart and know what he wants .
He rejected the offer so he can get the whole thing for himself, smart move
Wealth is power. He he succeeding in his plan because of his Worth
Personally, I see this scenario as a game of chess between Twitter and Mr Musk.
From the look of things, Musk has more pawns on the board.
Elon musk is the man though I did say he is a bit arrogant but I love it
This whole scenario feels like a game of chess between Twitter and Mr Musk.
From the look of things, Mr Musk has more pawns on the board
His a very wise man,he declined the offer of joining the twitter board of members because he had a plan and his plan later worked for him.
He rejected the offer to be part of the board so he can have the freedom to do whatever he likes.
Elon Musk is a rich and influential man.
So powerful and definitely do things in his own ways.
He recently made a dog the CEO of Twitter.
Oh, please! The dog is the symbol of his cryptocurrency business.
Phew! Elon musk didn’t join the board after all.
He rejected the offer because he has something else in mind.
Elon musk has finally taken over Twitter. Lol.
Musk did have his way, not too sure if he permitted that liberty that he had advocated.
Smart man .Elon Musk is indeed a real business man
Elon Musk in our today’s world see himself as a demigod, he rejected the offer because he knows he will definitely get more than that.
Well Elon Must is a very wise man . His turn down is just a strategy to come take over in full force.
He planned his game well.
Elon musk is gradually becoming a force. Always wanting things to go his own way. I’m sure he is still planning something huge. He needs to learn how to talk though.
“Twitter employees and management must therefore be breathing a sigh of relief at the fact that he won’t be on the board because their grip on the control of narrative and opinions seems safe for now”
Musk is really a trouble for them cause for people to be happy that he isn’t joining the board means they believe if he does will spoil things and may crash the company.
Elon Musk is a smart business man which is well known, he isn’t the type to shy away from a challenge. Now he is The largest shareholder of twitter and he isn’t doing bad. Just that Elon is uncouth and tend to take things too far. Nonetheless, he’s persistent and I believe he will continue to make smart moves.
Elon musk is equal to the task but he rejected the offer to do things his own way.
That was most definitely a smart move but honestly speaking, Elon musk is something else. I certainly admire his daring mental personality but I am not really a fan of Elon’s disruptive and reckless speech preferences.
This commentary was worth reading, very enlightening for students. Thank you ma.
I believe he has reasons for his actions.
He had a plan and he stuck to the plan. Musk is that guy.
Elon musk rejecting the offer is a business strategy to still be free to take charge.
He’s a business mogul!
Elon musk is a great taker of risks and as recent events have proven they quite pay off actually for him.
He knows his place in such situation and that’s why he reject the offer in order to be in contro
Elon musk is not the type of guy to be controlled.He knows what his doing
Elon musk is gradually becoming a force. Always wanting things to go his way. I’m sure he is still planning something huge. He needs to learn how to talk though.
Musk is a business man, he knows what he is doing. All of this is a small part of his elaborate scheme to acquire the company.
If smartness was a person it should have been Elon musk.
For me, I feel Elon musk is too egocentric.
Elon musk wants to do things in a strategized manner that’s why he rejected the offer first.
Wow.. Elon Musk rejecting offer. This simply means he has bigger plans. Watch for him. Thanks for the update ma.
Elon Musk is a critical thinker! Weighing his gains and losses, he rejected the offer to be part of the board with his intentions. His influence and affluence also gave him the masses backing and here we go, he’s in charge of Twitter.
Either way he is definitely making big changes after acquiring the media app
Interesting. But I think I support the notion of free speech on twitter as it is in democracy.
That is why he eventually bought the platform. There was no free speech there before.
Being opulent and affluent goes beyond having money but ability to think ahead.
Musk doesn’t look like the kind of guy to shy away from a challenge. He is bold and dream driven . He didn’t compromise even when the pressure of been a board member of a reputation online platform like Twitter when offered to him , he is really a wealthy man with so much intellect.
I think his rejection of the offer can be pointed to his later move to buy the app and own it. The rich are really smart.
Elon musk is actually a wise rich man, he rejected the offer because he does not want to be controlled and overpowered by the government in any way. He did a good job
Yet, he rejected the offer. He knows how to manipulate to get what he wants.
Elon Musk turned down the proposal to be a board member because he knew how best to play his cards.
Elon musk is after power and Total freedom to do as he pleases.
Elon isn’t someone to back down or run from challenges.
I truth him.
Elon isn’t someone that runs from challenges.
I trust him.
Elon musk is equal to the task but him rejecting the offer is just for him to do his things in his own ways
Currently he’s in control.
Elon Musk now owns twitter, so he can do whatever he chooses to do with it
I admire the way he works so hard but sometimes, I feel like he does too much.
Elon musk is a Brain box
I believe he knows what he was doing when he rejected the offer to join the board.
And now he owns it all.
It’s also worth noting that Musk has been a controversial figure on Twitter in the past, and has faced criticism for some of his tweets.
Elon Musk’s interest in acquiring Twitter reveals his desire to reform the platform and uphold free speech principles.
Elon Musk’s choice to not join Twitter’s board of directors undoubtedly represents his firm values and independent thought, qualities that have characterized most of his career. It’s obvious that he won’t give in to pressure to conform to others’ ideas, even if it means passing up a big chance like this.
Elon musk is a talented bussines man,retreating to have a big comeback,nice move.
Elon Musk is a smart business man , he works with strategy.
Elon Musk’s rejection of joining Twitter’s board reveals his strategic approach, and his eventual acquisition of the platform suggests his determination to reform it and uphold free speech principles
I believe he has some other motive hence rejecting the offer
The decision for Elon Musk not to join Twitter’s board emphasizes the complex dynamics of corporate governance and the clash between different agendas. It’s a reminder that influential individuals can have a significant impact on the direction and image of a company, which can lead to both challenges and opportunities for the business and its stakeholders.
Elon musk is not afraid of challenge because he knows how to play his card well to achieve his desire of reforming Twitter.
From this review I understood that Elon Musk does not want to take over twitter to act in the interest of the company and its shareholders which is expected of him.
He knows that joining the board will stop him from ranting as he wishes.
Wow! Did you really read the post?
Elon musk is very smart.he rejected the offer so that he can be independent on his own .a business minded individual
…And today, Elon Musk now own Twitter and Twitter has been renamed to X. Interesting!
At the end, he got what he want.
This shows that Elon Musk is a goal getter and a good business strategist, not only has he bought Twitter now X, he has also monetized it more. This has yielded increasing profit for him.
I don’t think it is possible to takeover twitter for hostile because according to twitter C E O, twitter holders do not want him again because his motive is different from theirs, they have different interest making it impossible.
Where have you been? You’re writing this one year after he took over Twitter. #smh
Based on his wealth status and his liking for the app it looked likely he’ll buy it. Fast forward to 2023 he’s the owner of Twitter.