How Elon Musk rocked Twitter in 7 tumultuous days

Over the past seven days, Elon Musk has appeared in the big headlines. But not Tesla, where he is CEO, that he is toying with this time. Instead, he’s making waves around his recent investment in Twitter.

News last week that he was bought enough Twitter stock to become the company’s largest shareholder leaves viewers wondering how Musk, the outspoken tech mogul and describes itself as a “tyranny of free speech”, may try to change the direction of the company, determined trouble and wrong information are two of its censorship targets since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

True to Musk’s eccentric and flamboyant form, the headlines don’t stop there. For seven days, Musk delivered important news with his statements and actions regarding the company and its future. First, Musk seems to confirm that he will participate Twitter’s Board of Directors, but a few days later, he and Twitter’s CEO reverse decision with cryptic sayings and tweets.

Here’s how the story has played out so far.

April 4: Musk reveals that he bought 9.2% of Twitter

On the morning of April 4, Musk sent a submit the application as prescribed to the Securities and Exchange Commission in recognition of his purchase of Twitter stock. The filing says the sale took place on March 14, which means Musk filed the filing 10 days late, according to SEC rules.

When news of the filing broke, tech industry figures speculated about how Musk could change the company as someone who filed as a “passive investor.” People are also starting to take a look at Musk’s recent statements about Twitter.

On March 24, Musk asked his followers if they think Twitter adheres to free speech guidelines, then said: “The consequences of this poll will be very important. Please vote carefully”.

After filing his investment, Musk caused an even greater uproar when he tweeted asking his followers, “Do you want an edit button?” mentions a longtime feature request from a Twitter user and seems to signal that he’s interested in making changes to the platform.

Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal cited Musk’s poll on the edit button and copied his March 24 statement, writing: “The consequences of this poll will be significant. Please vote carefully”.

On Tuesday, Agrawal announced in a statement on Twitter that Musk has been given a seat on the board.

“Through our conversations with Elon in recent weeks, it has become clear to us that he will bring tremendous value to our Board of Directors,” he wrote. “He was both an avid believer and a scathing critic of service, which is exactly what we needed.”

Musk responded by writing on Twitter, “Looking forward to working with Parag & Twitter management to make significant improvements to Twitter in the coming months!” At the end of the day, Musk submitted submit another application with the SEC indicated that he would take a more active role as an investor and he agreed not to buy more than 14.9% of the shares of the company. The more shares he owns, the easier it is for Musk to navigate the company’s capabilities.

On the same day, Twitter board members – including co-founder Jack Dorsey – tweeted their congratulations for Musk. “I am really happy that Elon joins the Twitter board,” Dorsey wrote. “He cares deeply about our world and Twitter’s role in it.”

Dorsey described Musk and Agrawal as a “team” that would be “both led by heart”. Omid Kordestani and Bret Taylor, two other members, also tweeted welcoming Musk to the board.

Twitter announces it’s working on an ‘edit’ button

After Musk’s “edit button” poll ended, more than 4.4 million accounts voted, with 73.6% requesting an addition. On Wednesday, Twitter announced that it has been working on edit button “from last year”.

“No, we didn’t get the idea from a poll,” the company’s tweet notes with a cheeky winking emoji.

Jay Sullivan, Twitter’s head of consumer products, noted in another tweet“Edit has been the most requested Twitter feature in years.”

At the same time, Musk has tweet meme about his alleged influence over Twitter, including a connection between Musk’s first big business move – “Sell Zip2 to Compaq for $305 million” – and Twitter’s “finally” get an edit button. Zip2 was Musk’s first business venture, which he sold in his late 20s. The domino meme he posted implies that Musk selling the company and establishing his entrepreneurship is the first in a series of events that will eventually lead to Twitter adding the editing feature.

April 9: Musk asks if Twitter is dying

The weekend shows no sign of slowing down from Musk.

On Saturday, Musk returned to his personal Twitter account with more worries about the company. “Is Twitter dying?” he asked in a quote tweet showing the 10 most followed Twitter users. “Most of these ‘top’ accounts rarely tweet and post very little content.”

Musk named A-list entertainers like Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber as the sixth and second most followed people on Twitter, respectively.

“Example: @taylorswift13 hasn’t posted anything in 3 months,” Musk said. “And @justinbieber only posts once a year.”

Then Musk targeted Twitter’s new subscription service, Twitter Blue, which costs $3 a month. Musk said he turned off the customizable Twitter Blue feature to stop sending tweets immediately, giving users 20 seconds to re-read and review their tweets before posting.

Musk suggested that Twitter’s service Blue should instead give your subscribers a verified check mark, which now requires approval from someone from Twitter’s Verified team. Musk said that should be “different from checkmarks that verify “public figure” or “official account”.

Musk suggested that his idea would reduce the number of fake accounts and bots.

“Now subtract the crypto scam accounts that twitter shows as ‘real’ people in people’s feeds,” Musk wrote in an answer to another user.

Then Musk said Twitter’s headquarters in San Francisco should turned into a shelter for people experiencing homelessness, “because nobody showed up anyway.”

Musk also joked that Twitter should remove the “w” from his company to become “titter”. He even ran another poll to gauge interest.

Musk is known for his cheeky tweets, played to be amusing but could land him and his companies in legal trouble. In September 2018, Musk settled with the SEC after he tweeted that he will take Tesla private at $420 per share, referring to the number related to marijuana. SEC charge Musk with securities fraud and accused Tesla of “failing to require disclosure procedures and controls related to Musk’s tweets,” an allegation Tesla has since addressed.

The terms of the settlement included Musk’s resignation as Tesla chairman, asking Tesla to hire more independent directors and paying a $40 million fine.

April 10: Twitter CEO says Musk won’t join the board after all

Late Sunday, Agrawal announced in a statement on Twitter that Musk will not be joining Twitter’s board of directors. He wrote that it was Musk’s decision.

“We also believe that Elon is a trustee of the company, where he, like all board members, must act in the best interests of the company and all of its shareholders. us, is the best way forward,” wrote Agrawal.

Agrawal wrote that his announcement on Tuesday was “subject to background checks and formal acceptance” and that Musk would be formally appointed on Saturday morning.

“Elon shared the same morning that he will no longer be on the board,” Agrawal wrote. “I believe this is for the best.”

Agrawal and other members of the Twitter board reversed their initial approval of Musk’s appointment after Musk posted tweets critical of the company. After Agrawal announced that Musk would no longer sit on the board, Musk tweeted – and later deleted – a chuckle emoji.

It wasn’t the only tweet that hinted at or directly criticized Twitter that Musk deleted. He’s also deleted several key tweets he’s posted since he filed April 4 with the SEC, including several posts about Twitter Blue. Musk also deleted a tweet that shows a photo of him smoked marijuana on Joe Rogan’s podcast with the caption “Twitter’s next board meeting will be held.”

Musk later liked a tweet speculating that he wouldn’t be on the board because he couldn’t be critical of Twitter at the same time. “Let me break this down for you: Elon has become the largest shareholder of Free Speech. Elon is supposed to play nice and not just talk,” the tweet read.

April 11: A new filing says Musk may buy more Twitter shares

In a filing Monday, Musk said he may buy more shares of Twitter following his decision not to join the board. “Depending on the factors discussed herein, the Reporter may, from time to time, purchase additional shares of Common Stock and/or retain and/or sell all or part of the shares of the Company. Common shares are held by the Reporter either publicly on the market or in privately negotiated transactions,” the filing reads.

Likely to create a more hostile relationship between Twitter and Musk, according to analysts who spoke with CNBC in Monday.

at Blogtuan.info – Source: nbcnews.com – Read the original article here