Elon Musk’s rocketship ride to Twitter leadership lit its second stage on Tuesday, when CEO Parag Agrawal welcomed the Tesla and SpaceX founder to the social media platform’s board of directors.
Musk’s potential stake will be capped at 15 percent.
Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal announced the news in a series of tweets on Tuesday morning.
“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,” Agrawal wrote.
“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!” his statement concluded.
On Monday, news broke that Musk had taken a 9.2% stake in Twitter to become the company’s biggest shareholder, according to a filing with the Securities Exchange Commission.
The move was announced about one week after Musk criticized the social media platform for “failing to adhere to free speech principles” and cryptically asked, “Is a new platform needed?”
Musk’s stake was worth nearly $2.9 billion, based on Friday’s market close, when the news was announced early Monday. Twitter’s share price, however, jumped 27% on Monday, closing at $49.97, after the company disclosed that Musk had become its biggest shareholder.
Given the stock’s surge on Monday, Musk’s stake is now worth $3.84 billion — suggesting that he’s already seen nearly $1 billion in gains on his investment.