Elon Musk won't join Twitter board: CEO Parag Agrawal

Twitter's biggest shareholder Elon Musk will not be joining the company's board, according to the microblogging platform's chief executive officer Parag Agrawal.

"Elon Musk has decided not to join our board... The board and I had many discussions about Elon joining the board, and with Elon directly. We were excited to collaborate and clear about the risks. We also believed that having as a fiduciary of the company where he, like all board members, has to act in the best interest of the company and all our shareholders, was the best path forward. The board offered him a seat," Agrawal said in a note to the company.

This comes days after the Twitter CEO said that Elon Musk will be appointed as a board member of the microblogging platform.

"We announced on Tuesday that Elon would be appointed to the board contingent on a background check and formal acceptance. Elon's appointment to the board was to become officially effective 4/9, but Elon shared that same morning that he will no longer be joining the board. I believe this is for the best," Agrawal said. "We have and will always value input from our shareholders whether they are on our board or not. Elon is our biggest shareholder and we will remain open to his input."

Agrawal cautioned that there will be distractions ahead, but the company's goals and priorities remain unchanged. "The decision we make and how we execute is in our hands, no one else's. Let's tune out the noise, and stay focused on the work and what we're building."

Last week, Twitter CEO had said that Musk is a passionate believer and intense critic of the service which is exactly what is needed on Twitter, and in the boardroom, to make the platform stronger in the long-term.

Meanwhile, Musk has been coming up with bizarre ideas after becoming Twitter's largest shareholder. "Convert Twitter SF HQ to homeless shelter since no one shows up anyway," he asked his followers in a Twitter poll. Replying to this poll, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos – the world's second richest person after Musk – suggested that a part of the office can be converted into a homeless shelter just like Amazon's Seattle headquarters. "Or do portion. Worked out great and makes it easy for employees who want to volunteer," Bezos said.

Musk also recommended a paid authentication checkmark. "Everyone who signs up for Twitter Blue (ie pays $3/month) should get an authentication checkmark," he tweeted.

Blue already has a modifiable 20 second time to edit tweet feature but it's not very useful, he said.

Musk emphasised that there should not be ads on the platform. "The power of corporations to dictate policy is greatly enhanced if Twitter depends on advertising money to survive," he said.

In another whacky poll, Musk asked whether the 'w' letter in Twitter should be deleted. Earlier, Musk had asked his followers if Twitter is dying as most top accounts tweet rarely and post very little content.

Tesla CEO had acquired a 9.2% stake in Twitter by purchasing nearly 73.5 million shares, according to a document filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Musk's shareholding is more than four times the 2.25% stake held by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey.