On April 18 (Local Time), billionaire Elon Musk said on Twitter that if he manages to acquire the company, he will slash the company’s board salary to $0. He said, “Board salary will be $0 if my bid succeeds, so that’s ~$3M/year saved right there.” Musk was replying to Gary Black of The Future Fund LLC, who had said the reason behind the board not accepting Musk’s offer was that the company pays them hefty annual salaries that clock to anywhere between $250,000 to $300,000 per board member. Notably, the board members own next to no stock in the company.
Board salary will be $0 if my bid succeeds, so that’s ~$3M/year saved right there
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 18, 2022
Replying to another post, Musk had roped Jack into the conversation where a Twitter user Chris Bakke had pointed out that the board members own almost zero stock in the company. Musk wrote, “Wow, with Jack departing, the Twitter board collectively owns almost no shares! Objectively, their economic interests are simply not aligned with shareholders.”
Wow, with Jack departing, the Twitter board collectively owns almost no shares! Objectively, their economic interests are simply not aligned with shareholders.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 16, 2022
Interestingly, Twitter founder Jack Dorsey has been posting cryptic messages every now and then. In a recent post, he endorsed a tweet that read, “Good boards don’t create good companies, but a bad board will kill a company every time.” There are assumptions that Jack took a dig at the current board of directors at Twitter. In 2008, he was removed from the post of CEO. Jack is also planning to leave the board by the end of this year.
big facts
— jack⚡️ (@jack) April 17, 2022
To a comment on his endorsement that read, “If look into the history of the Twitter board, it’s intriguing as I was a witness on its early beginnings, mired in plots and coups, and particularly amongst Twitter’s founding members. I wish it could be made into a Hollywood thriller one day,” Jack replied, “it’s consistently been the dysfunction of the company.”
it’s consistently been the dysfunction of the company
— jack⚡️ (@jack) April 17, 2022
Musk’s colleagues have jumped in his support. David Sacks, a South African entrepreneur and partner of Musk’s at X.com, said on Twitter that poison pills should be illegal. He said, “Every company run by a weak management team should be in play.”
Poison pills should be illegal. Every company run by a weak management team should be in play.
— David Sacks (@DavidSacks) April 16, 2022
The bid to take over Twitter and Elon Musk
Recently, Elon Musk made an offer to take over Twitter and make it private. He said the company has a lot of potential, and he could help Twitter in using it better. However, the Twitter Board decided not to accept the offer and opted for the Poison Pill. It is noteworthy that though the Poison Pill is in place, it is not possible for the Twitter Board to stop Musk from acquiring the company.
