Elon Musk Declines Offer to Join Twitter Board

Billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk turned down Twitter’s invitation to join its board of directors on Apr. 9, the same day he was scheduled to join. 

Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal said Sunday that Musk’s decision was “for the best,” but that there would be “distractions ahead.” Agrawal had previously said “weeks” of conversations led him to believe Musk was “exactly what we need on Twitter, and in the boardroom.”

The news prompted a flurry of speculation about the reasoning behind Musk’s decision. Some pointed to an apparently haphazard series of tweets, including “69.420% of statistics are false,” in which Musk suggested changes to the platform. Others suggested Musk may have wanted to avoid a mandatory background check. Some even wondered whether Musk was planning a hostile takeover, since his decision allows him to purchase more shares of the company.

Coverage was widespread and mostly balanced across the spectrum on Monday. Coverage in left-rated outlets was more likely to frame Musk’s weekend tweets as “erratic,” and coverage in right-rated outlets generally framed Twitter in a less positive light.