Elon Musk is joining the board of directors at Twitter to bring “significant improvements” to the social media platform he often criticises.

Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal broke the news in a tweet today (5 April) saying that conversations with Musk in recent weeks has made it “clear to us that he would bring great value to our board”.

Shares of the company jumped 7pc in the immediate aftermath of the announcement, just a day after Twitter had its best of trading since its IPO in 2013, according to CNBC, as shares skyrocketed 27pc.

The appointment is a result of Musk buying a 9.2pc stake in the company yesterday, making him one of Twitter’s biggest shareholders – with a greater stake than company founder Jack Dorsey. The stake is reportedly worth $2.89bn based on Twitter’s closing price on Friday.

“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,” tweeted Agrawal, welcoming Musk to the board.

Musk responded to the tweet by saying he looks forward to making “significant improvements” to the platform, just a week after he tweeted that “free speech is essential to a functioning democracy” and asked his followers to weigh in on whether Twitter “rigorously adheres to this principle”.

“Given that Twitter serves as the de-facto public town square, failing to adhere to free speech principles fundamentally undermines democracy,” he added in a follow-up tweet. “What should be done?”

He then asked followers whether a new social media platform was needed, and said he was giving “serious thought” to building one.

Dorsey, who stepped down after 15 years as CEO of Twitter last November, also tweeted his excitement at Musk joining the board, praising him for caring “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 wrote.

According to the SEC filing noting his appointment, Musk will not be permitted to buy more than 14.9pc of Twitter shares as long as he serves on the board.

Musk is already getting ready to make some of the changes he promises, with a Twitter poll earlier today asking his 80m followers if the platform should introduce an edit button.

Do you want an edit button?

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 5, 2022

Responding to the poll, Agrawal urged people to vote carefully because “the consequences of this poll will be important”. On 1 April, or April Fools’ Day, Twitter said it was working on an edit feature – it remains to be determined whether that was a joke.

Elon Musk at a TED interview in 2017. Image: Steve Jurvetson/Flickr (CC by 2.0)

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