Elon Musk has joined Twitter’s board. Here’s what we can expect

After speaking his heart out on the social media platform for over a decade, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has now made his voice heard in Twitter's board room. After picking up a 9.2 percent stake in the company, Musk has officially become the 12th member of Twitter's board. 

For those wondering how much of a say will Musk have with his less than 10 percent stake, let us remind you that Twitter founder, Jack Dorsey, currently holds just over 2 percent in the company. The Vanguard Group Inc., holds an 8.39 percent stake, the largest from an institutional investor according to CNN Money. So, single-handedly, Musk is ahead of the rest of the investors. 

Even though Musk filed the 13G, a form to declare passive holdings in a company, considering Musk's outspoken nature and the desire to be the center of attention, he will be anything but passive during this term that is scheduled to last till 2024. 

Changes at Twitter

When Twitter CEO, Parag Aggarwal announced that Musk was joining the company's board, he mentioned that conversations with Musk had convinced him that the latter would be a valuable member. 

Musk may have already begun bringing changes to the platform when he ran a poll asking Twitter users if they preferred having an 'edit' button. While Twitter CEO responded to the poll, asking users to exercise caution, it is likely that Musk will be pushing for such changes that Twitter has long resisted. 

It is also likely that the 'free speech absolutist', Musk will also push back against Twitter's moderation policies and allow more users to speak their minds out, whether it makes sense or not. Musk will back his agenda with a poll he ran last month.

Apart from being the world's richest person, Musk is quite a force to reckon with on Twitter. With more than 80 million followers, Musk's polls generate huge response rates and his fans will follow him where ever he leads them. 

Musk leading the charge

With Dorsey leaving the Twitter boardroom this summer, the company needs to rediscover itself to stay relevant. Meta has the money to push for a metaverse but with so many companies vying for the space, Twitter needs to come up with something fresh and new. 

Its audio-based 'Spaces' has been a tremendous success, The Verge reported, and the platform is a favorite space to share NFTs. No one knows better the impact the platform has had on cryptocurrency valuations.

Under Musk's influence and recently appointed CEO's leadership, we could see Twitter heading into a platform for all things related to blockchain. If Tesla can accept Bitcoin payments for its cars, then cryptocurrency payments on Twitter aren't a pipe dream. 

The biggest question though is what happens to Elon Musk. As de-facto owner of the company, does he get a free ticket to say whatever he wants on the platform and get away with it? Or does logging into Twitter basically become work and we will see him post less often? 

Only time will tell.