OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk is preparing to meet with Twitter staff who are “concerned” after he became the largest shareholder of the social media platform.
Musk will hold a town hall with staff at the San Francisco-based firm who are concerned that his new majority ownership will end their woke agenda, The Washington Post reported.
Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal announced the AMA, or “Ask me Anything” session, though he did not say when the event would take place, in an email to staff.
“We say that Twitter is what’s happening and what people are talking about right now. Often, we [at] Twitter are what’s happening and what people are talking about. That has certainly been the case this week,” he said in the email on Thursday in which he invited staff to the AMA.
“Following our board announcement, many of you have had different types of questions about Elon Musk, and I want to welcome you to ask those questions to him,” he said.
It comes after Agrawal Agrawal made the announcement one day after Musk became the largest shareholder in the company.
He took to the platform on Tuesday and said that the billionaire will now be on the Twitter board of directors.
“I’m excited to share that we’re appointing @elonmusk to our board! Through conversations with Elon in recent weeks, it became clear to us that he would bring great value to our Board,” he said in a tweet thread.
“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 said.
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!
— Parag Agrawal (@paraga) April 5, 2022
Musk, who announced his shareholder status this week, responded to the tweets.
“Looking forward to working with Parag & Twitter board to make significant improvements to Twitter in coming months!” he said.
Looking forward to working with Parag & Twitter board to make significant improvements to Twitter in coming months!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 5, 2022
Musk bought a 9.2% stake in Twitter, making him the largest shareholder of the left-leaning social media platform.
“Musk owns 73.5 million Twitter shares, valuing his passive stake in the company at up to $2.9 billion based on the stock’s Friday close. The shares are held by the Elon Musk Revocable Trust,” Newsmax reported.
“Musk, a prolific user of Twitter, has over 80 million followers on the site since joining in 2009 and has used the platform to make several announcements, including teasing a go-private deal for Tesla that landed him in regulatory scrutiny. He, however, has been critical of the social media platform and its policies of late and has said the company is undermining democracy by failing to adhere to free speech principles,” the report added.
The move came after Musk put up a poll asking his followers if they believed that Twitter did a good job of adhering to free speech principles.
The billionaire made a series of tweets that had some speculating that a social media app could be his next business venture.
“Free speech is essential to a functioning democracy. Do you believe Twitter rigorously adheres to this principle?” he said in one tweet with a poll in which 70 percent of the respondents answered “no.”
Free speech is essential to a functioning democracy.
Do you believe Twitter rigorously adheres to this principle?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 25, 2022
“The consequences of this poll will be important. Please vote carefully,” he said.
The consequences of this poll will be important. Please vote carefully.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 25, 2022
“Given that Twitter serves as the de facto public town square, failing to adhere to free speech principles fundamentally undermines democracy. What should be done?” he said in another tweet.
Given that Twitter serves as the de facto public town square, failing to adhere to free speech principles fundamentally undermines democracy.
What should be done? https://t.co/aPS9ycji37
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 26, 2022
“Is a new platform needed?” he said.
Is a new platform needed?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 26, 2022
Soon after the news on Monday went viral on social media, Musk tweeted: “oh hi lol.”
Oh hi lol
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 4, 2022
He then put up a poll that asked, “Do you want an edit button?” the poll read, with the options intentionally misspelled as “yse” and “on.”
Do you want an edit button?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 5, 2022
An edit button is something that many users on the left-wing platform have striven for.
