AXIOS REPORTS

Elon Musk will join Twitter’s board of directors after purchasing a 9.2% stake in the social media company and becoming its largest shareholder, according to documents submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Why it matters: Musk, who has criticized Twitter for “failing to adhere to free speech principles,” can reform the platform to his liking from his new position in the company, Axios’ Hope King reports.

What they’re saying: “I’m excited to share that we’re appointing [Elon Musk] to our board!” Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal said Tuesday.

• “Through conversations with Elon in recent weeks, it became clear to us that he would bring great value to our Board,” he added.
• “Looking forward to working with Parag & Twitter board to make significant improvements to Twitter in coming months!” Musk responded.

The big picture: Musk won’t be able to buy more than 14.9% of the company’s stock while on the board.

• He is already gauging changes to the platform, asking users last night in a poll if they would like the ability to edit tweets after posting them.
• Before purchasing his stake, Musk said he was considering building a social media platform to rival Twitter.

Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, who stepped down as Twitter’s CEO last year, said Tuesday he was “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.”

• Dorsey said over the weekend that he felt partially responsible for the centralization of the internet, including social media platforms, saying, “Centralizing discovery and identity into corporations really damaged the internet.”