Elon Musk Making Major Changes To Twitter After Buying $3 Billion Stake

Comic book supervillain waiting to happen Elon Musk has been appointed to the Twitter board of directors, after becoming the social media company's biggest shareholder.

Musk has long been a controversial figure on Twitter, and an outspoken critic of the social media platform. Earlier this month, he decided to use his immense wealth to purchase a 9.2% stake worth almost $3bn in the company, and has vowed to make some big changes. Because when you're rich, if you don't like the rules you can just pay to change them.

Twitter's chief executive Parag Agrawal said of Musk's appointment to the board of directors: "Through conversations with Elon in recent weeks, 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. Welcome Elon!"

Musk responded: "Looking forward to working with Parag & Twitter board to make significant improvements to Twitter in coming months!"

While Musk has yet to specify what changes he's looking to make, we can hazard a guess. The billionaire entrepreneur's investment in the company comes following his public - and frequent - criticism of Twitter's guidelines on free speech.

"Given that Twitter serves as the de facto public town square, failing to adhere to free speech principles fundamentally undermines democracy," Musk tweeted just a few weeks ago. "What should be done?" 

Musk has also been fairly vocal about Twitter's need for an edit button, something the platform was already looking to introduce before his appointment to the board.

It's also worth noting that earlier this month, the Securities and Exchange Commission said ruled that it wouldn't let Musk out of a 2018 agreement that means his use of Twitter must be overseen by Tesla lawyers. Predictably, Musk objected and claimed that it inhibits his freedom of speech.

While it's unlikely any major changes will materialise overnight, I think Twitter users should probably brace themselves for at least some of Musk's ideas to make their way onto the platform in the next few years.