Elon Musk Promises $0 Salary for Board Members If He Buys Twitter

Tesla CEO Elon Musk continues his takeover attempt of social media giant Twitter by arguing that if the board salary were made $0, it would save the company $3 million every year.

The billionaire's remarks come as a reply to a tweet by Gary Black that pointed out the average annual salary of Twitter board members ranging from $250,000 to $300,000 for what he called a "nice part-time job." If Musk does get ownership of the social media company and makes it private, it would remove the board members' jobs.

Elon Musk's Twitter Takeover

The situation comes as Musk bought the largest single share of Twitter and drew ire from other shareholders, specifically the Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal. The social media giant currently spends roughly $2.9 million in cash and stock awards to pay board members, as revealed by an SEC filing.

Musk also turned down an offer to become one of the board members of Twitter because it came with the stipulation that he would have to cap out his shareholding at 14.9%. The Tesla CEO offered to buy the entirety of the company for $43 billion instead and make it private, as per the Western Journal.

In response, Twitter's board members took a so-called "poison pill" that was designed to prevent the SpaceX CEO from completing his takeover of the company. The plan, known as a "limited duration shareholder rights plan," will allow current shareholders of the company to buy a stock at a discounted price if Musk completes his purchase of the platform.

The Tesla CEO did not take the plan of the board members well and responded on Monday by arguing that the interests of the board members did not align with the company's shareholders. He argued that there was a lack of insider ownership, saying he would be able to fix the issue if he acquired Twitter.

According to Yahoo Finance, in several recent tweets, Musk criticized the board's low level of ownership as his referendum on the company continues. "Objectively, their economic interests are simply not aligned with shareholders," he said Saturday.

The Company's Board

Furthermore, former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has also expressed criticism of his former company's current board. Dorsey replied to another Twitter user who described the alleged situation of "plots and coups" by saying it has been the consistent dysfunction of the social media giant.

Dorsey earlier responded to another tweet in the same threat that quoted venture capitalist Fred Destin citing what he called a "Silicon Valley proverb." The former Twitter CEO said that good boards were not the reason for good companies but argued that a bad board would kill a company in the long term.

Despite Dorsey still being a member of Twitter's current board, he plans to leave and part ways with the company once his term expires at the 2022 meeting of shareholders scheduled for late May.

The current board said that despite the poison pill, it would not turn away from a deal that would be in the best interest of the company and its shareholders. However, they said that it would "reduce the likelihood that any entity, person, or group gains control of Twitter through open market accumulation without paying all shareholders an appropriate control premium or without providing the Board sufficient time to make informed judgments and take actions that are in the best interests of shareholders," CNBC reported.

Tags

Elon Musk, Twitter