After he shared his “fear” last week regarding billionaire Elon Musk buying almost 10 percent of Twitter and how he was offered a seat on the board of directors, CNN+ host Brian Stelter began Monday’s Reliable Sources Daily a bit relieved that Musk had turned down the board seat but he seemed on edge over “what will Elon Musk do now?”
“One week after becoming Twitter’s biggest shareholder, Musk is apparently rejecting a seat on the board,” Stelter announced at the top of the show as he clung to the statements released by Twitter’s CEO:
He gave notice on Saturday and on Sunday night, Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal said, quote, “I believe this for the best.” But he also warned, quote, “There will be distractions ahead.” Distractions like a Musk takeover move?
Stelter’s guest for the segment was Hollywood Reporter media and business writer Alex Weprin, who he cautiously asked: “reading between the lines of the Twitter CEO’s statement, what happened here?”
Weprin felt that Musk might have turned down the board position because “to join the board was that it limited his ability to buy more than 14.9 percent of the company and it also meant that he would have a fiduciary responsibility to Twitter to act in its best interest.”
“But it does seem as though Elon has decided to go in a different direction. You suggested a hostile takeover, I certainly think that’s potentially in the cards,” he added in a sober tone.
Stelter praised Weprin for the work he does “going through [FCC] filings to see what these companies are doing.” Of course, Stelter was keen on a recent filing Musk had made:
WEPRIN: So, you know, it’s basically something of a walk back from the last one where he’s said he was going to join the board. The big addition this time is that it acknowledges that he’s not going to join the board and it says he’s going to be active in discussions with the board and with management, basically offering them suggestions for what to do with Twitter going forward.
“That’s kind of legalese way of saying he’s going to be very active in sharing his opinion about what Twitter should be doing,” Weprin explained. “And that’s he’s going to be applying pressure to management and the public to try and get it done.”
After seeming to fret “this is only the beginning of the story,” Stelter admitted he was scouring Musk’s Twitter activities for clues to what his plan was:
I was just looking at his Twitter feed since he’s such an active Twitter-er, to see if Elon’s posted anything in the past few minutes. That’s curious, Alex, is he actually deleted posts about Twitter from the past few days. He was taking surveys asking people what they wanted to see on the site. And he’s taken those down. Do you read anything into that?
Weprin said that Musk’s “off-the-cuff” speaking style makes it “really hard to know what he’s thinking or what he’s planning here.” Adding: “But it does seem like he’s got some sort of grander vision for Twitter and what his role in Twitter’s future is.”
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
CNN+’s Reliable Sources Daily
April 11, 2022
11:01:38 a.m. EasternBRIAN STELTER: Up first, what will Elon Musk do now? One week after becoming Twitter’s biggest shareholder, Musk is apparently rejecting a seat on the board. He gave notice on Saturday and on Sunday night, Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal said, quote, “I believe this for the best.” But he also warned, quote, “There will be distractions ahead.” Distractions like a Musk takeover move?
I have a feeling we’re going to find out soon.
Alex Weprin is here with more. He’s a media and business writer at The Hollywood Reporter. Alex, reading between the lines of the Twitter CEO’s statement, what happened here?
ALEX WEPRIN: You know, it sounds like Twitter and Elon Musk have been in conversations for some time about him joining the board. But it sounds like Elon essentially decided that he wanted to go in a different direction. He wanted to be more active.
The thing with Elon’s deal with Twitter to join the board was that it limited his ability to buy more than 14.9 percent of the company and it also meant that he would have a fiduciary responsibility to Twitter to act in its best interest. And that’s something Parag mentioned in his note to staff, that Elon would have a responsibility to Twitter not to himself.
But it does seem as though Elon has decided to go in a different direction. You suggested a hostile takeover, I certainly think that’s potentially in the cards.
STELTER: You and I’ve been friends for a long time. I know that you dig through FCC filings, it’s one of your specialties, going through government filings to see what these companies are doing. Elon Musk has just filed with the FCC and what did he say in that?
WEPRIN: So, you know, it’s basically something of a walk back from the last one where he’s said he was going to join the board. The big addition this time is that it acknowledges that he’s not going to join the board and it says he’s going to be active in discussions with the board and with management, basically offering them suggestions for what to do with Twitter going forward.
That’s kind of legalese way of saying he’s going to be very active in sharing his opinion about what Twitter should be doing. And that’s he’s going to be applying pressure to management and the public to try and get it done.
STELTER: So, this is only the beginning of the story, Alex?
WEPRIN: It also said he was going to be acquiring – he may acquire more of Twitter. He may, you know, buy more stock, he may buy more shares. So, he could become a much larger investor than he is right now. Right now he owns about nine percent of the company. That could grow in the coming weeks.
STELTER: I was just looking at his Twitter feed since he’s such an active Twitter-er, to see if Elon’s posted anything in the past few minutes. That’s curious, Alex, is he actually deleted posts about Twitter from the past few days. He was taking surveys asking people what they wanted to see on the site. And he’s taken those down. Do you read anything into that?
WEPRIN: It’s hard to know what Elon Musk is thinking at any given moment. Right?
STELTER: Right.
WEPRIN: He’s very active on Twitter. He’s also a very kind of volatile personality. You know, he says things off the cuff if you’ve ever seen him speak. And he doesn’t really care what people think. So, it’s really hard to know what he’s thinking or what he’s planning here. But it does seem like he’s got some sort of grander vision for Twitter and what his role in Twitter’s future is.
STELTER: Yeah. There’s a reason why he purchased all these shares. And I don’t think we necessarily know it yet.
