Musk tweeted Elvis Presley’s song ‘Love Me Tender’ after Twitter opted for ‘poison pill’ plan
Elon Musk on Monday took a swipe at Twitter Inc’s (NYSE: TWTR) board and said he wouldn’t pay salary to the board of directors if he acquires the social media company.
“Board salary will be $0 if my bid succeeds, so that’s ~$3M/year saved right there,” Musk tweeted.
The comment comes days after Twitter adopted a limited duration shareholder rights plan in an effort to protect itself from a potential hostile takeover.
The California-based social media company spends about $2.9 million in cash and stock awards to its eleven board members, according to a proxy SEC filing posted last week for the 2022 annual shareholder meeting.
Moreover, executives do not receive additional compensation for their seats, so that does not include payments for CEO Parag Agrawal and former chief executive and founder Jack Dorsey.
Musk’s response followed criticism of the board by Gary Black, managing partner of Future Fund LLC.
“The board serves to represent shareholders. If they refuse to act in the best interest of SHs, they should be removed and replaced by new board members who understand their fiduciary obligations,” Black tweeted, pointing out that Twitter chairman Bret Taylor and other board members, except Dorsey, collectively hold 77 shares of the company.
Moreover, Twitter founder and former chief executive Jack Dorsey slammed the social media company’s board, saying that “It’s consistently been the dysfunction of the company,” as directors are tasked with evaluating Elon Musk’s $43 billion takeover bid.
Cold battle escalates
Musk currently owns a 9.2% stake in Twitter and is the social media company’s second-biggest shareholder.
Earlier this week, the Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) chief executive had offered to acquire the social media company for $43 billion and asked his 80 million followers on the micro-blogging platform if he should take “Twitter private at $54.20 should be up to shareholders, not the board”.
The Tesla chief executive on Saturday also tweeted “Love Me Tender”, an Elvis Presley song, after Twitter opted for the ‘poison pill’ plan to sell shares at a discount if any shareholder amasses a stake of more than 15%.
Musk has also tweeted several other product ideas since acquiring the stake, from eliminating ads to an edit button.
He also asked his followers if Twitter’s headquarters should be converted into a homeless shelter.
Picture Credit: Fox Business
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