Elon Musk - the world's richest man - is set to join Twitter's board after becoming the social media platform's top shareholder.
It comes after the Tesla and SpaceX chief purchased a 9.2 per cent stake - worth $3billion (£2.3billion) - in Twitter Inc yesterday.
Prior to announcing the purchase, Musk had criticised the micro-blogging site for failing to adhere to free speech principles and said he was contemplating building a new social media platform.
But now the 50-year-old businessman cannot become the owner of more than 14.9% of Twitter's common stock either as an individual shareholder or a member of a group as long as he is a director of the brand, according to a company filing made today.
Twitter Chief Executive Officer Parag Agrawal - who Musk previously ridiculed - said: "I'm excited to share that we're appointing @elonmusk to our board."
In a tweet he added: "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."
In response, Musk tweeted: "Looking forward to working with Parag & Twitter board to make significant improvements to Twitter in coming months."
He recently ran a Twitter poll asking users if they believed the platform adheres to the principle of free speech.
After disclosing his stake on Monday, Musk put out another poll on Twitter asking users if they want an edit button, a long-awaited feature on which the social media platform has been working.
"You can never underestimate Elon Musk. I wonder what the underlying motives are?" said Gerald Goldberg, CEO of GYL Financial Synergies, a registered investment adviser, whose clients own both Twitter and Tesla shares.
"I think he's sending a message to the SEC that says, 'I'm going to do what I want to do'."
On Monday, Musk disclosed his ownership of 73.5 million Twitter shares, which are held by the Elon Musk Revocable Trust, of which he is the sole trustee.
Musk will participate in the director benefits arrangements applicable to non-employee directors, the company said.
Twitter will enter into its standard form of indemnification agreement with Musk, it added.
Musk will serve as a Class II director, with the term expiring at Twitter's 2024 annual meeting of stockholders.
Twitter shares surged six per cent in trading before the opening bell, after closing up over 27 per cent on Monday.
The South African-Canadian entrepreneur - who in recent months has seen his wealth overtake Amazon founder Jeff Bezos - has said he is a free speech absolutist.
He has been vocal against Web3, a term for a utopian version of the internet that is decentralised and whose commercial backbone is the non-fungible token (NFT).
Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey and Musk, though active proponents of cryptocurrencies, share skepticism around the metaverse, NFTs and Web3, what some deem to be the evolution of the internet.
Musk has previously called NFT profile pictures "annoying".
The world's richest man will also be a board member of UFC-owner Endeavor until June 30 but has exited the board of tech non-profit OpenAI, which he co-founded, in 2018.
He is also the founder and CEO of SpaceX, and leads brain-chip startup Neuralink and infrastructure firm the Boring Company.
