Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal may struggle to balance his own vision against that of Elon Musk, an unpredictable board member with a much louder megaphone
now what? - The Verge https://www.theverge.com/... Luke O'Brien / @lukeobrien : Twitter protects Jack Posobiec, no matter how many dangerous lies he spreads. No matter how many neo-Nazis or Kremlin assets he promotes. Why does Twitter do this? Maybe Elon Musk can find out and build Poso an even bigger botnet. https://twitter.com/... @antoniogm : Simply labeling the post as ‘edited’ and providing an audit history (if you click in further) is enough to deter any shenanigans. It's so easy to verify, nobody really tries to pull a fast one at any scale. Doesn't seem that hard a nut to crack (leaving aside back-end details). @mikeisaac : matt's newsletter on elon is good thing that is standing out to me, per his dissection of filings and how the past 72 hours have gone down, is that twitter realized Elon's aggressive come on could have been a nuclear bomb, and they're doing everything they can to neutralize it https://t.co/kEQEFJWpfu Andy Ng / @mrandyngo : Mr Musk, I can show you how Twitter is used by far-left violent extremist individuals, groups & networks in the US to organize violence & funding of crimes. https://twitter.com/... @ranjanxroy : In this week's @ReadMargins - I wrote about Elon and Twitter and how I think it's connected to his escalating battle with the SEC https://www.readmargins.com/ ... Casey Newton / @caseynewton : Hey remember this?? https://www.platformer.news/ ... https://twitter.com/... John Battelle / @johnbattelle : Opening line of Casey's NL today. @dickc“Task #1: undermine CEO, consolidate power” https://twitter.com/... Kate Conger / @kateconger : When Twitter faced an activist investor campaign in 2020, execs went on the defensive. But the reception for Elon Musk, which played out in tweets about open algorithms and free speech, was more welcoming. w/@MikeIsaac @LaurenSHirsch https://www.nytimes.com/... @chrisalbertolaw : How do you know when a radical right-wing billionaire is dead serious about increasing his political power via propaganda designed to establish an oligarchic regime? Musk may become just as dangerous as Murdoch, but together they could be deadly for America's democracy. https://twitter.com/...
PlatformerCasey Newton
Context & Ripple Effects
Musk's board seat turns a leadership question into a governance one: Agrawal must pursue Twitter's strategy while accommodating a director whose public reach can shape the debate outside the boardroom. Later coverage describes Agrawal's tenure under a takeover bid as one marked by weakening business performance and falling morale.
The episode also precedes the board's decision to accept Musk's takeover even though related coverage said he had not laid out a clear plan for revenue, profit, or user growth in the eventual takeover decision.
First-order effects
Agrawal's room to set Twitter's priorities narrows as Musk gains both formal board access and an outsized public channel for challenging management.
Twitter's board must manage the gap between internal governance and Musk's public interventions, making strategic disagreement more visible to employees and users.
Second-order effects
The management friction gives Musk greater leverage over Twitter's direction before any ownership change, intensifying uncertainty for employees already facing declining morale in later coverage.
A board that must account for a director's public influence is more likely to evaluate major strategic choices through the lens of that director's preferences, not only management's plan.
Third-order effects
If high-profile investors combine board roles with mass public platforms, corporate boards face a durable governance problem: formal director duties can be amplified into an external pressure campaign.
Twitter's subsequent takeover path suggests that control contests can begin well before an acquisition agreement, with executive authority eroding as a prominent board member's influence grows.
The trend: Corporate governance is being reshaped by investors who can pair formal board influence with a direct, large-scale public megaphone.
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.
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://twitter.com/...
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!
How do you become Twitter's largest shareholder? SEC Filing shows Elon has been buying tens of millions of dollars of Twitter shares *daily* for the past two months https://www.sec.gov/... https://twitter.com/...
You're supposed to file form 13D, which discloses the purpose of your large purchase, if you're an activist investor or joining the board. The shorter form Musk filed, 13G, is for when you acquire a bunch of stock but there's no reason other investors need to know what's afoot. h…
March 25 2022: Elon Musk had already bought a 9% share in @Twitter but had not yet revealed it (which is illegal) and posts another poll to Twitter about Twitter & free speech. Musk then said: “The consequences of this poll will be important. Please vote carefully.” https://twitt…
@AdamSinger @LouisAnslow When this feature shipped, FB was public by default. Many users (e.g. Shapiro) get just as engagement and reach on FB as they do on Twitter, so don't think there's a numbers argument to be made either.
matt's newsletter on elon is good thing that is standing out to me, per his dissection of filings and how the past 72 hours have gone down, is that twitter realized Elon's aggressive come on could have been a nuclear bomb, and they're doing everything they can to neutralize it ht…
I love how this editable Tweet debate is a massive issue that some seem to think technically insoluble...and when Facebook shipped editable posts, it was a random feature shipped without any hoopla that just handled all the corner cases from day one (hint: edit history).
One final thought. Elon Musk has been tweeting transphobic attacks for the last month since Grimes left him for Chelsea Manning. How can we trust Twitter will protect LGBTQ people with someone like him on the board? The answer is, we can't. He'll likely goad the trolls further.
HEADLINE: “What happens when a true shitposter joins your board of directors?” Elon Musk tweeted his way onto Twitter's board — now what? - The Verge https://www.theverge.com/...
Twitter protects Jack Posobiec, no matter how many dangerous lies he spreads. No matter how many neo-Nazis or Kremlin assets he promotes. Why does Twitter do this? Maybe Elon Musk can find out and build Poso an even bigger botnet. https://twitter.com/...
Simply labeling the post as ‘edited’ and providing an audit history (if you click in further) is enough to deter any shenanigans. It's so easy to verify, nobody really tries to pull a fast one at any scale. Doesn't seem that hard a nut to crack (leaving aside back-end details).
Mr Musk, I can show you how Twitter is used by far-left violent extremist individuals, groups & networks in the US to organize violence & funding of crimes. https://twitter.com/...