Elon Musk Strikes Back Toxic Pills From Twitter Council, Promises To Remove Council Members' Salaries

Elon Musk wants to take over Twitter to turn it into a free speech platform. (photo; twitter @elonmusk)

JAKARTA - Elon Musk lashed out at Twitter's board on Monday, April 18, after the social media company adopted a "poison pill" to protect itself from a $43 billion (617.7 trillion) cash purchase offer from its second-largest shareholder.

"The board's salary will be $0 if my bid is successful, so that's roughly $3 million/year stashed in there," Musk tweeted in response to a user post criticizing the board.

i♥️u

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 14, 2022

Musk, who describes himself as an "absolute free speech" who is critical of Twitter's policies, did not elaborate on the content of the tweet. Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Continuing his tirade against the company, Musk has launched a poll on Thursday April 14 asking his 80 million followers if "taking Twitter private at $54.20 should be up to shareholders, not the board". Most of the polls in the Tweet answered "Yes".

Taking Twitter private at $54.20 should be up to shareholders, not the board

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 14, 2022

Later, the Tesla chief executive also tweeted “Love Me Tender”, an Elvis Presley song, after Twitter opted for a plan to sell the stock at a discount to prevent shareholders from raising more than 15%. Musk currently owns 9.1% of the shares.

Meanwhile, in a series of tweet replies, Twitter co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey summoned the Twitter board on Saturday, April 16 saying "this is consistently a corporate dysfunction."

Dorsey's remarks were a reply to a tweet by venture capitalist Garry Tan that said: "The wrong partner on your board can literally make a billion dollars' worth evaporate."

Twitter shares rose about 4% to $46.85, still well below Musk's bid of $54.20 per share. But the value of this stock has increased by about 15% since Musk disclosed his shares on April 4.

Reuters reported, Twitter was also informed by Thoma Bravo, a technology-focused private equity firm that had more than US$103 billion in assets under management at the end of December, that it was exploring the possibility of bidding.