Turns out, according to newly released text exchanges between Elon Musk and Jack Dorsey, that the latter had pushed since at least last year for the Tesla CEO and fellow billionaire to join Twitter’s board.
Court filings revealed on Thursday show Dorsey telling Musk that he tried to get him on the board when the social media platform “was battling with activist investor Elliott Management, which started trying to oust Dorsey as Twitter CEO in 2020,” the New York Post reported.
“Back when we had the activist come in, I tried my hardest to get you on our board, and our board said no,” Dorsey wrote to Musk on March 26, 2022, adding, “That’s about the time I decided I needed to work to leave, as hard as it was for me.”
Dorsey resigned as Twitter CEO last November.
“I think the main reason is the board is just super risk averse and saw adding you as more risk, which I thought was completely stupid and backwards,” Dorsey said of the obstacles he faced in getting Musk on.
The founder of Twitter also told Musk that “a new platform is needed” beyond Twitter, Business Insider reported.
“A new platform is needed. It can’t be a company. That’s why I left,” Dorsey said in his initial text to Musk.
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Musk quickly responded, according to the text log, asking “What should it look like?” Dorsey proceeded to explain what he has said publicly, that Twitter should become an “open-sourced protocol” that looks “a bit like what Signal has done,” referencing the encrypted messaging app. Dorsey also said that Twitter “cant have an advertising model.” Advertising is currently the central business model of social media companies.
Musk told Dorsey, “I’d like to help if I’m able.” Dorsey proceeded to tell Musk that he’d actually pushed for his addition to Twitter’s board a year earlier, but Twitter’s board “said no.”
In a later response, Musk said he thought “it’s worth both trying to move Twitter in a better direction and doing something that’s decentralized.”
He would announce a month later, in April, his $44 billion takeover bid for Twitter, before later backing out of the deal over concerns about bots, or fake accounts.
After the announcement, Dorsey told Musk that he “couldn’t be happier you’re doing this,” according to Insider.
“I’ve wanted it for a long time,” Dorsey added. “Got very emotional when I learned it was finally possible.”
When asked by Musk to advise him if ever he was doing or not doing “something dumb,” Dorsey replied: “I trust you but def will do.”
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Tom Tillison grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills. Tillison also contributes to BizPac Review.
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