Twitter has announced it will start testing an edit function for tweets. It comes after Elon Musk - who has just bought a $2.9bn share in the social media giant - launched a tongue-in-cheek poll.
Musk is joining Twitter’s board of directors a day after disclosing that he had taken a 9% stake in the social media platform. Twitter said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday that had it entered into an agreement with Mr Musk on Monday that will give the billionaire Tesla chief a seat on its board, with the term expiring at its 2024 annual shareholders meeting.
Earlier today, the tech entrepreneur tweeted a poll - with 'yse' instead of 'yes' - asking the twittersphere if it wanted an edit button. Now, Twitter has confirmed that has "been working on an edit feature since last year" - and is "kicking off testing" within "the coming months to learn what works, what doesn’t, and what’s possible".
However, with a wink emoji, Twitter's tweet said: "no, we didn’t get the idea from a poll". It had announced it was "working on an edit button" on April Fool's day - and has now confirmed that "we weren’t joking".
Putting Mr Musk on Twitter’s board and limiting the amount of stock he can acquire as a director may be a strategic move on Twitter’s part, as he has become its biggest shareholder and openly questioned the social media platform’s dedication to free speech.
Mr Musk, who has 80 million Twitter followers, bought 73.5 million shares, worth about 3 billion dollars (£2.2 billion). He has also raised the possibility with his massive and loyal Twitter following that he could create a rival social media network.
Mr Musk has not spoken specifically about any Twitter rule changes he might push. He tweeted on Tuesday that he wants to make “significant improvements to Twitter in coming months!” Twitter’s board will have 12 members with Mr Musk. Jack Dorsey stepped down as CEO last year and his term on the board expires at an upcoming stockholders’ meeting on May 25.
Three other board members have terms that are set to expire but have been nominated to retain their seats. Mr Dorsey tweeted on Tuesday that Mr Musk and Mr Agrawal “both lead with their hearts, and they will be an incredible team”. “I’m really happy Elon is joining the Twitter board! He cares deeply about our world and Twitter’s role in it,” Mr Dorsey said.
In March, Musk told his millions of followers on Twitter that he was “giving serious thought” to creating his own social media platform, and has clashed repeatedly with financial regulators about his use of Twitter. He is locked in a bitter dispute with the Securities and Exchange Commission over his ability to post on Twitter. His lawyer has contended in court motions that the SEC is infringing on the Tesla CEO’s First Amendment rights to free speech.
Twitter chief executive Parag Agrawal said in a tweet that the company had been talking to Mr Musk in recent weeks and “it became clear to us that he would bring great value to our Board”. “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,” Mr Agrawal continued.
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