埃隆·马斯克退出Twitter董事会后如何放飞自我
上周一，特斯拉首席执行官埃隆·马斯克宣布，已斥资29亿美元收购推特（Twitter）约9.2%股份，成为该社交媒体巨头的最大股东。
此事很快成为金融界热门话题，越来越多人猜测，世界首富同时也是Twitter高频用户的马斯克会不会加入公司董事会。
起初看起来马斯克不会加入，因为马斯克报告称投资是“被动行为”，这意味着他不打算利用任职机会要求公司战略变革。但第二天，Twitter首席执行官帕拉格·阿格拉瓦尔宣布，马斯克将加入公司董事会，之后还有重大调整。不过跟往常一样，只要涉及马斯克，都只是传奇的开始。
马斯克刚开始同意加入董事会后双方签署了终止协议，规定他不能增持Twitter股份超过14.9%。或许更重要的是，如果加入董事会他将承担受托责任，要以公司及股东的最佳利益行事。
根据美国证券交易委员会（SEC）4月9日公布的一份文件，马斯克不会加入董事会，不过作为积极投资者，他仍可以时不时发布推文建议，推动公司变革。
由于文件中有一项不寻常的规定，马斯克透露，现在他拥有“通过社交媒体或其他渠道向董事会和/或发行人管理团队成员和/或公众表达意见”的法律权利。
马斯克似乎意识到，一旦成为Twitter的董事会成员，可能就无法享受最中意的消遣之一：随心所欲地发推。
最大股东不想成为受托人
如果马斯克留在Twitter董事会，作为受托人行事就要以股东的最佳利益为上。如此一来他就不能在Twitter上发布有关公司发展方向的不成熟想法，有些意见跟笑话或恶作剧差不多。毕竟，（如果身为董事还如此发言）投资者可能会起诉他履行受托责任不当。
说起马斯克不加入董事会，其实上周四就已有迹象，当时马斯克发了一张著名照片，内容是自己在乔·罗根的播客中吸大麻，配文称“Twitter下一次董事会会议将被点燃。”他还在一条后来自行删除的推文中建议，Twitter Blue用户应该自动验证，而且应允许使用加密货币狗狗币（Dogecoin）支付。
据阿格拉瓦尔透露，4月9日，马斯克表示对加入董事会不再感兴趣，可能因为他意识到某些推文可能导致证券交易委员会找麻烦。
“我认为当前决定是最好的选择，”阿格拉瓦尔在宣布决定的推文中写道，并补充说将“继续接受（马斯克的）意见”，但他敦促公司“屏蔽噪声”，专心完成面前的工作。
上周末，马斯克决定放弃加入董事会，但在公开宣布之前，他在Twitter上相当忙碌。
首先，他询问粉丝Twitter应不应该把旧金山总部改成流浪者收容所，“反正也没人去上班”。他的忠实支持者响亮地回答“应该”，912867次投票中赞成方占91%。几小时后，50岁的马斯克又问粉丝应不应该把“Twitter名字里的w删除”，给出的两个选项位“是”或“当然应该”。
后来两条推文都已删除，但很明显，马斯克拒绝加入董事会后在取笑Twitter管理层。而且现在他可以合法地这么做。
Wedbush科技分析师丹·艾夫斯表示，此事可能引发马斯克和Twitter管理层“权力博弈”，因为马斯克可能对该公司采取“更敌对的立场”。
“马斯克不加入Twitter董事会可能会导致一系列情况，包括1）与私募股权伙伴联手，迫使Twitter采取重大战略变革和/或出售，2）提出各种调整建议，为Twitter董事会/高管制造更多噪音和焦虑，或3）马斯克说‘游戏结束’，降低持股然后回家。”周一艾夫斯在一份报告中写道。“在我们看来，1或2的可能性比较大。”
不过与此同时，马斯克仍可以随心Twitter上为公司未来提出建议，毕竟他只是拥有Twitter数十亿美元股票的股东，不用因为董事身份为言论负责。
4月9日，就在马斯克决定不加入董事会的同一天，他似乎确实在充分享受自由。当天他发推文提了个简单的问题：“Twitter快完蛋了吗？”（财富中文网）
译者：冯丰
审校：夏林
上周一，特斯拉首席执行官埃隆·马斯克宣布，已斥资29亿美元收购推特（Twitter）约9.2%股份，成为该社交媒体巨头的最大股东。
此事很快成为金融界热门话题，越来越多人猜测，世界首富同时也是Twitter高频用户的马斯克会不会加入公司董事会。
起初看起来马斯克不会加入，因为马斯克报告称投资是“被动行为”，这意味着他不打算利用任职机会要求公司战略变革。但第二天，Twitter首席执行官帕拉格·阿格拉瓦尔宣布，马斯克将加入公司董事会，之后还有重大调整。不过跟往常一样，只要涉及马斯克，都只是传奇的开始。
马斯克刚开始同意加入董事会后双方签署了终止协议，规定他不能增持Twitter股份超过14.9%。或许更重要的是，如果加入董事会他将承担受托责任，要以公司及股东的最佳利益行事。
根据美国证券交易委员会（SEC）4月9日公布的一份文件，马斯克不会加入董事会，不过作为积极投资者，他仍可以时不时发布推文建议，推动公司变革。
由于文件中有一项不寻常的规定，马斯克透露，现在他拥有“通过社交媒体或其他渠道向董事会和/或发行人管理团队成员和/或公众表达意见”的法律权利。
马斯克似乎意识到，一旦成为Twitter的董事会成员，可能就无法享受最中意的消遣之一：随心所欲地发推。
最大股东不想成为受托人
如果马斯克留在Twitter董事会，作为受托人行事就要以股东的最佳利益为上。如此一来他就不能在Twitter上发布有关公司发展方向的不成熟想法，有些意见跟笑话或恶作剧差不多。毕竟，（如果身为董事还如此发言）投资者可能会起诉他履行受托责任不当。
说起马斯克不加入董事会，其实上周四就已有迹象，当时马斯克发了一张著名照片，内容是自己在乔·罗根的播客中吸大麻，配文称“Twitter下一次董事会会议将被点燃。”他还在一条后来自行删除的推文中建议，Twitter Blue用户应该自动验证，而且应允许使用加密货币狗狗币（Dogecoin）支付。
据阿格拉瓦尔透露，4月9日，马斯克表示对加入董事会不再感兴趣，可能因为他意识到某些推文可能导致证券交易委员会找麻烦。
“我认为当前决定是最好的选择，”阿格拉瓦尔在宣布决定的推文中写道，并补充说将“继续接受（马斯克的）意见”，但他敦促公司“屏蔽噪声”，专心完成面前的工作。
上周末，马斯克决定放弃加入董事会，但在公开宣布之前，他在Twitter上相当忙碌。
首先，他询问粉丝Twitter应不应该把旧金山总部改成流浪者收容所，“反正也没人去上班”。他的忠实支持者响亮地回答“应该”，912867次投票中赞成方占91%。几小时后，50岁的马斯克又问粉丝应不应该把“Twitter名字里的w删除”，给出的两个选项位“是”或“当然应该”。
后来两条推文都已删除，但很明显，马斯克拒绝加入董事会后在取笑Twitter管理层。而且现在他可以合法地这么做。
Wedbush科技分析师丹·艾夫斯表示，此事可能引发马斯克和Twitter管理层“权力博弈”，因为马斯克可能对该公司采取“更敌对的立场”。
“马斯克不加入Twitter董事会可能会导致一系列情况，包括1）与私募股权伙伴联手，迫使Twitter采取重大战略变革和/或出售，2）提出各种调整建议，为Twitter董事会/高管制造更多噪音和焦虑，或3）马斯克说‘游戏结束’，降低持股然后回家。”周一艾夫斯在一份报告中写道。“在我们看来，1或2的可能性比较大。”
不过与此同时，马斯克仍可以随心Twitter上为公司未来提出建议，毕竟他只是拥有Twitter数十亿美元股票的股东，不用因为董事身份为言论负责。
4月9日，就在马斯克决定不加入董事会的同一天，他似乎确实在充分享受自由。当天他发推文提了个简单的问题：“Twitter快完蛋了吗？”（财富中文网）
译者：冯丰
审校：夏林
Last Monday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced he had spent $2.9 billion to acquire a roughly 9.2% stake in Twitter, making him the largest shareholder of the social media giant.
The move quickly became the talk of the financial world, with speculation growing as to whether Musk, the world’s richest man and a prolific tweeter, would become a member of Twitter’s board of directors.
At first, it seemed not, since Musk reported his investment was “passive,” meaning that he didn’t plan to use his position to demand strategic changes at the company. But by the next day, Twitter’s CEO, Parag Agrawal, announced that Musk would in fact be joining the company’s board, with major changes to follow. As usual when it comes to Musk, though, that was just the beginning of the saga.
Musk’s original agreement to join the board came with a standstill that prevented him from buying more than 14.9% of Twitter’s stock, and, perhaps more important, left him with a fiduciary responsibility to act in the best interests of the company and its shareholders.
Now, according to an SEC filing released on Saturday, Musk will no longer be joining the board, but as an active investor, he can still push for changes at the company by, of course, tweeting out random suggestions.
Owing to an unusual provision in the filing, Musk disclosed that he now has the legal right to “express his views to the Board and/or members of the Issuer’s management team and/or the public through social media or other channels.”
It seems that Musk realized being on Twitter’s board might have kept him from enjoying one of his favorite pastimes: tweeting whatever he feels like.
When the largest shareholder does not want to be a fiduciary
Musk remaining on Twitter’s board would have required him, as a fiduciary, to act in the best interests of shareholders. That, in turn, would likely have prevented him from tweeting half-baked ideas, arguably indistinguishable from jokes or pranks, about the direction of the company. After all, an investor could likely sue him for not acting in line with his fiduciary responsibilities.
The hints that Musk and board representation wouldn’t mesh began on Thursday when Musk tweeted a picture of the time he famously smoked weed on Joe Rogan’s podcast, saying, “Twitter’s next board meeting is going to be lit.” And in a since-deleted tweet, he suggested Twitter Blue subscribers should be automatically verified and allowed to pay with Dogecoin.
By Saturday, Musk said he was no longer interested in being a board member, according to Agrawal, possibly because he realized some of his tweets may land him in hot water with the SEC, again.
“I believe this is for the best,” Agrawal wrote in a tweet announcing the decision, adding that he will “remain open to his [Musk’s] input,” but is urging the company to “tune out the noise” and stay focused on the work at hand.
Last weekend, after deciding to forgo joining the board, but before it was announced publicly, Musk was off to the races on Twitter.
First, he probed his followers over whether Twitter should convert its San Francisco headquarters into a homeless shelter “since no one shows up anyway.” His loyal supporters answered with a resounding “yes,” with 91% of the 912,867 votes cast. Hours later, Musk, now 50 years old, asked his followers if he should “delete the w in twitter,” offering the choice of “Yes” or “Of course.”
Both tweets were later deleted, but it was clear Musk was poking fun at Twitter’s management after having declined the option to join the board. And now, he can do just that—legally.
Wedbush tech analyst Dan Ives said the move is set to trigger a “Game of Thrones” battle between Musk and Twitter’s management as the Tesla CEO is likely to take a “more hostile stance” toward the company.
“Musk no longer joining the Twitter board could lead to a host of scenarios including 1) joining up with a private equity partner and forcing major strategic changes at Twitter and/or a sale, 2) creating more noise and angst for Twitter Board/execs with various proposed platform changes, or 3) Musk says ‘game over,’ reduces his stake, and goes home,” Ives wrote in a Monday note. “In our opinion, it’s likely paths 1 or 2.”
In the meantime, though, Musk is free to keep tweeting suggestions for the future of the company, and he’s not going to be liable for them as a company director, just as the owner of a multibillion-dollar chunk of Twitter.
On Saturday, the same day he quit the board, Musk seemed to be relishing his freedom, tweeting out a simple question: “Is Twitter dying?”
