Elon Musk joins Twitter board amid ongoing free speech battle

Twitter shocked the business world after announcing that it was appointing Elon Musk to its board after the billionaire and tech entrepreneur bought a 9.2% stake in the social media company, sending Twitter’s shares up more than 3% on Tuesday morning.

The social media giant’s CEO Parag Agrawal took to Twitter on Tuesday morning to announce Musk’s appointment, writing, “Through conversations with Elon in recent weeks, it became clear to us that he would bring great value to our Board.”

"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. 

Musk responded to the Tweet, noting that he planned on making significant improvements to the platform in the coming months – a signal that Musk could tackle the ongoing free-speech issues which have plagued Twitter in recent times.

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

According to a Fox News report, Twitter disclosed its deal with the Tesla and SpaceX founder on Monday and said that his appointment will end at the company’s 2024 annual meeting of stockholders. Per the agreement, Musk is barred from owning more than 14.9% of the company’s common stalk while serving as a member of the board – neither as an individual nor as a member of a group.

Musk became Twitter Inc.’s largest shareholder earlier this week after purchasing a 9.2% stake in the company – a move worth nearly 73.5 million shares or $3 billion. Musk announced the move just days after warning that Twitter’s lack of free speech protections “fundamentally undermines democracy.”  

Babylon Bee CEO Seth Dillon – who has also been in the frontlines against Twitter’s alleged anti-speech policies -- posted a reaction to the news of Musk joining Twitter’s board.

"Musk reached out to us before he polled his followers about Twitter's commitment to free speech," Dillon tweeted. "He wanted to confirm that we had, in fact, been suspended. He even mused on that call that he might need to buy Twitter. Now he's the largest shareholder and has a seat on the board." 

Twitter shuttered the Christian satire site’s account last month over “hateful conduct” after the group’s account posted a tweet naming U.S. Assistant Secretary for Health Dr. Rachel Levine the site's "Man of the Year" for 2022.

Upon learning of Musk’s appointment, conservatives have also called on the billionaire to restore former President Trump’s Twitter account which was banned in the wake of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot last year.

"Now that @ElonMusk is Twitter's largest shareholder, it's time to lift the political censorship. Oh... and BRING BACK TRUMP!" tweeted Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert.

"Will the new majority shareholder return freedom of speech to Twitter?" asked Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.). "It will require courage [because] the regime is heavily investing in a certain industry and threats will undoubtedly come. Yet the freedom of speech restored will enable us all to defeat them."

Errol Webber, a Republican congressional candidate in California, added that with Musk as the largest shareholder now is the time to return Twitter to its "former glory" by "bringing back President Trump" and ending "all forms of political and other censorship."

Critics have long argued that big tech uses its unbridled power to unfairly censor conservative voices and acts as a fundamental threat to free speech. Major tech companies have shot back, however, claiming that they’re not engaging in suppression but rather protecting users from bigotry, misinformation and the potential incitement to violence.