Musk will join Twitter's board, what changes will he bring? Will trump accounts be unblocked?

As a heavy user of the social platform Twitter, Musk, the world's richest man and founder and CEO of Tesla, has not been less "troubled" on Twitter. This time, he bought 9.2% of Twitter's shares and became a member of Twitter's board of directors and the company's largest shareholder. Musk also threatened to use the position to bring major changes to Twitter.

Previously, Musk has repeatedly criticized the Twitter platform for not respecting free speech. After the news of Musk becoming the largest shareholder, many people are waiting for Twitter's future policy changes, and some people have called for the accounts of former President Trump and others to be "unblocked". How much power will Musk have on Twitter? What changes will he bring to Twitter?

Become Twitter's largest shareholder

According to Reuters, the US technology giant Twitter said on the 5th that Musk would be appointed as a director of the company.

A document submitted by Musk to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on the 4th shows that he has accumulated 9.2% of the shares of Twitter, becoming the company's largest shareholder.

Twitter CEO Parag Agravar posted on Twitter on the 5th that Twitter is well aware that Musk will bring "great value" to the board.

He also called Musk both a "fanatical believer" and a "fierce critic" of Twitter, "which is exactly what Twitter and the board need, and it will make us stronger in the long run." ”

Musk responded on Twitter: "Looking forward to working with Parag and Twitter's board of directors and making significant improvements to Twitter in the coming months." ”

According to the documents resubmitted by Musk on the 5th, Musk has been buying Twitter shares since January 31 this year, and as of April 1, he has purchased a total of 73 million shares for $2.64 billion.

For Musk, the world's richest man, the money may just be a piece of cake. According to the list of 2022 billionaires released by Forbes magazine on the 5th, Musk topped the list. As of early March this year, Musk's net worth reached $219 billion, surpassing Amazon founder Bezos.

Twitter shares rose sharply after news of Musk's boarding of directors, rising more than 27 percent at the close of trading on April 4.

What will change?

For now, musk has not revealed any details other than promising to bring major changes to Twitter. But Reuters pointed out that from the full acquisition of Twitter to active participation in the platform, the current speculation about Musk has been "flying all over the sky".

What changes might Musk, who is often "off the beaten track", bring to Twitter?

Analysts and fans of Musk's Twitter account believe that the outspoken billionaire's primary goal after taking a stake in Twitter may be to change Twitter's free speech policy.

Musk has long described himself as an absolutist of free speech and has been critical of the speech policies of social platforms.

On March 25 of this year, after starting to buy shares in Twitter, Musk issued a vote saying: "Freedom of speech is essential to the functioning of democracy, do you think Twitter strictly adheres to this principle?" Of the more than 2 million netizens who voted, 70.4 percent thought Twitter had failed to do it.

Musk later tweeted that he was "seriously" considering opening a new online platform. At that time, some netizens suggested that he might as well buy Twitter.

Interestingly, the news that Musk has become a major shareholder of Twitter has also been supported by many Conservatives in the United States. They called on Musk to "unblock" Trump's account. U.S. Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert called for "Trump back" after Musk became a major shareholder on the 4th.

After the riots in the US Capitol on January 6 last year, Twitter, Instagram and other platforms announced that they had "blocked" the account of former US President Trump. Musk has commented: "A lot of people will be very unhappy that West Coast high-tech companies have become the de facto arbiters of free speech." ”

In addition, Musk has also suggested making Twitter more "decentralized" and open-source its algorithms to improve the transparency of the platform to display and promote Tweets.

CNBC said the idea could be supported by other Twitter board members, such as Twitter's former CEO Dorsey.

In addition, Musk may also push for changes to some of Twitter's "pain points".

On the 4th, Musk posted a vote on Twitter, asking fans if they wanted the Tweet editing function. After 73.6% of netizens chose "want", Twitter has confirmed that it is testing the editing function.

How much power does Musk have?

However, becoming a majority shareholder and board member may not mean that Musk can "do whatever he wants" with Twitter.

Reuters quoted sources as saying that Musk will participate in Twitter's strategic decisions, such as project direction and increased editing functions. But Musk may have no say in the platform's censorship, which speech is banned, or whose accounts can be reinstated. This policy applies to all Twitter board members.

A Twitter spokesperson also told Reuters that Twitter's day-to-day operations and decisions will be decided by Twitter management and employees.

CNBC said that excluding Musk, Twitter currently has 11 members on the board. Functionally, Musk's proposal would need sufficient support from other board members and shareholders for approval.

However, CNBC also pointed out that considering that Musk is an extremely high-profile, outspoken investor and has more than 80 million followers on the Twitter platform, this puts the world's richest man in a favorable position to push for change. Twitter's swift acceptance of Musk on its board also signaled that the leadership is at least willing to embrace the billionaire's ideas.

In addition, the outside world also expressed curiosity about whether Musk might acquire Twitter.

In this regard, some sources said that Musk did not express interest in acquiring the company. Reuters said Musk's appointment could block his chances of acquiring Twitter. As long as Musk serves on Twitter's board, whether as an individual shareholder or a member of an investment group, the shareholding ratio cannot exceed 14.9%.

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