Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal responds to criticism Elon Musk is taking the company ‘hostage’

Elon Musk’s unprecedented offer has made clear he wants to rattle the cage, but critics are accusing him of holding the company “hostage”.

Twitter’s CEO has stressed Elon Musk is not holding the company “hostage” after the world’s richest man plonked a massive offer on the table to purchase the social media giant.

Musk moved quickly to acquire the entire company after dropping $4 billion on becoming the largest individual shareholder last week. His ongoing criticism of the company’s policy on free speech, as well as a few other key features, has made it clear he wants to rattle the cage and build a better communication platform.

However, Musk’s historic $US41.4 billion (A$55.92 billion) move hasn’t been met with same optimism as his monolithic online following.

Reports of Twitter employees needing to “help each other through the week” as a result of the stress brought on by Musk’s purchase have flooded the media this week.

Several employees posted they would resign as news of Musk’s 9 per cent buy-in broke, claiming his presence at the company will have negative effects on mental wellbeing.

Political reporter for The Washington Post Tim O’Brien complained about the serious ramifications of Musk assuming complete control, suggesting the Tesla magnate could be more “bully” than “philosopher”.

“I suspect there’s something more serious informing Musk’s decision to invest in Twitter, even if he revels in buffoonery: Maybe he wants to bring Twitter to heel,” he wrote.

But Twitter’s CEO Parag Agrawal has reportedly moved to hush the building outrage at a recent board meeting, assuring staff were still the ones “in control”.

According to Reuters, Agrawal told Twitter’s staff the board was continuing to review Musk‘s offer and rejected claims the company has been thrown into turmoil.

Agrawal also welcomed criticism of the platform’s policy’s and urged the company must “learn and get better.

It’s clear Musk wants to rattle a few cages at Twitter.

“Are we just going to start inviting any and all billionaires to the board?” one employee was heard asking from the meeting.

“I have a strong point of view that people who are critical of our service, their voice is something that we must emphasise so that we can learn and get better,” Agrawal responded, adding that “Twitter stands for way more than one human, any human”.

When quizzed on Musk’s definition of free speech and what it would mean for Twitter’s current policy, Agrawal loosely mentioned maintaining “the health of conversation”.

Musk has consistently highlighted Twitter’s importance to the world and has hinted on making changes.

“I think it’s very important for there to be an inclusive arena for free speech,” Musk said at recent a TED Talk in Vancouver.

In a letter to Twitter’s board, Musk said he believed Twitter had an essential role to play for the future of free speech and democracy.

“I invested in Twitter as I believe in its potential to be the platform for free speech around the globe, and I believe free speech is a societal imperative for a functioning democracy,” he said.

“However, since making my investment I now realise the company will neither thrive nor serve this societal imperative in its current form. Twitter needs to be transformed as a private company.”

Twitter’s CEO assured staff were still ‘in control’ as the company continues to review Musk’s giant offer. He stressed the Tesla magnate was not holding the company ‘hostage’.

But the deal hasn’t been sealed just yet. Tesla shareholders have questioned if Musk is even capable of freeing up that amount of cash to make the transfer. With his finger already in so many pies, the added headache of taking over and reforming Twitter has generated some worry in existing camps.

“Elon is distracted. He’s got a lot of things going on. He’s involved in a lot of different endeavours,” said Gene Munster, a managing partner at venture capital firm Loup Ventures, which owns shares in Tesla. “This is a one to three months headwind to Tesla’s stock.”

Shares of Tesla fell over 9 per cent after Musk disclosed his initial Twitter share purchase.

Originally published as Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal responds to criticism Elon Musk is taking the company ‘hostage’