Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal confirms Elon Musk is not joining its board

As Tesla CEO and SpaceX founder Elon Musk became Twitter’s largest shareholder, Twitter announced that Musk will also be joining the board of directors. But in a new tweet by Parag Agrawal, the Twitter CEO mentions that Musk has now declined from joining the company’s board.

The tweet includes a short note as well, though it does not give a clear reason as to why Musk is no longer joining the board. Agrawal said in the tweet, “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. We also believed that having Elon as a fiduciary of the company where he, like all board members, has to act in the best interests of the company and all our shareholders, was the best path forward. The board offered him a seat. We announced on Tuesday that Elon would be appointed to the Board contingent on a background check and formal acceptance. 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.”

The Twitter CEO also mentions that he believes the decision is for the best. “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’s tune out the noise and stay focused on the work and what we’re building,” he noted towards the end.

The development is certainly interesting given how Musk has been posting and asking several questions about the future of Twitter and its policies. For his instance, he wrote that everyone who is signing up for Twitter Blue (a paid subscription service the company is testing in select countries) needs to get an authentication checkmark and that it should have no ads.

He also insists Twitter is a key public platform, and asked his followers in a poll whether Twitter is rigorously adhering to the principles of free speech. He also pointed out some of the ‘top accounts’ on the platform don’t appear to tweet anymore. Musk also posted to his followers whether the Twitter headquarters should be converted into a shelter for the homeless, since no one uses it anymore.

Regarding the checkmark for Twitter Blue users, Musk also added, “it should be different from “public figure” or “official account” checkmark.”