Elon Musk joins Twitter board, Parag Agrawal welcomes 'passionate believer, intense critic'

Tech billionaire Elon Musk has joined the Twitter board, the social media giant's CEO Parag Agrawal announced today in a significant move after the Tesla chief acquired 9.2 percent stake in the company and became its largest shareholder.

"I’m excited to share that we’re appointing @elonmusk to our board! Through conversations with Elon in recent weeks, it became clear to us that he would bring great value to our Board," Agrawal tweeted.

"He’s both a passionate believer and intense critic of the service which is exactly what we need on @Twitter, and in the boardroom, to make us stronger in the long-term. Welcome Elon!" he added.

He’s both a passionate believer and intense critic of the service which is exactly what we need on @Twitter, and in the boardroom, to make us stronger in the long-term. Welcome Elon!

— Parag Agrawal (@paraga) April 5, 2022

The SpaceX CEO also responded to Twitter's Indian-origin CEO tweet.

"Looking forward to working with Parag & Twitter board to make significant improvements to Twitter in coming months!" Musk's tweet read.

Looking forward to working with Parag & Twitter board to make significant improvements to Twitter in coming months!

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— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 5, 2022

Elon Musk, 50, became the largest shareholder in Twitter with 9.2 percent stake that he acquired just on Monday. He revealed his stake shortly after a tweet that questioned Twitter's commitment to free speech and asked users if a new platform was needed.

Shares of Twitter Inc jumped as much as 26 percent in pre-market trading soon after the announcement.

Former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey also commented on the big news.

"I’m really happy Elon is joining the Twitter board! He cares deeply about our world and Twitter’s role in it. Parag and Elon both lead with their hearts, and they will be an incredible team," he tweeted.

I’m really happy Elon is joining the Twitter board! He cares deeply about our world and Twitter’s role in it.

Parag and Elon both lead with their hearts, and they will be an incredible team. https://t.co/T4rWEJFAes

— jack (@jack) April 5, 2022

Musk is an avid Twitter user with a whopping 80 million followers and has periodically conducted polls to ascertain whether the social media platform adheres to principles of free speech. In another poll, he asked users whether Twitter’s algorithm should be open source.

Just half a day ago, Musk started a poll asking users if they want an edit button on Twitter.

Parag Agrawal had also tweeted the poll saying: "The consequences of this poll will be important. Please vote carefully."

73.5 percent people have already voted yes for the edit button. The poll still has 11 hours to go.