Elon Musk tells US regulator he reserves right to whack Twitter bird anytime

Though denying himself a board seat at Twitter, Elon Musk, the worlds richest man, has told the US securities regulator that he can revisit any of his declarations at any time.

Keeping naysayers -- including Twitter employees grumbling anonymously in the international media -- on their toes, Musk, owner of 9.1 per cent (800,641,166 shares of common stock) reserved his intent to micro-manage the world's most influential online microblogging platform in a detailed filing.

"Pursuant to the April 4, 2022 letter Agreement, the Reporting Person (Musk) was invited to serve on the board of directors (the 'Board') of the Issuer (Twitter). On April 9, 2022, the Reporting Person informed the Issuer that he is not joining the Board," Musk wrote to the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC).

"The Reporting Person holds the Common Stock of the Issuer for investment purposes. Depending on the factors discussed herein, the Reporting Person may, from time to time, acquire additional shares of Common Stock and/or retain and/or sell all or a portion of the shares of Common Stock held by the Reporting Person in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions, and/or may distribute the Common Stock held by the Reporting Person to other entities.

"Any actions the Reporting Person might undertake will be dependent upon the Reporting Person's evaluation of numerous factors, including, among other things, the price levels of the Common Stock, general market and economic conditions, ongoing evaluation of the Issuer's business, financial condition, operations and prospects, the relative attractiveness of alternative business and investment opportunities, investor's need for liquidity, and other future developments," the filing added.

The filing further said: "From time to time, the Reporting Person may engage in discussions with the Board and/or members of the Issuer's management team concerning, including, without limitation, potential business combinations and strategic alternatives, the business, operations, capital structure, governance, management, strategy of the Issuer and other matters concerning the Issuer.

"The Reporting Person may 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 with respect to the Issuer's business, products and service offerings.

"Except as set forth above, the Reporting Person has no present plans or intentions which would result in or relate to any of the transactions described. However, the Reporting Person reserves the right to change his plans at any time, as he deems appropriate, and in light of his ongoing evaluation of numerous factors, including, among other things, the price levels of the Common Stock, general market and economic conditions, ongoing evaluation of the Issuer's business, financial condition, operations and prospects, the relative attractiveness of alternative business and investment opportunities, Reporting Person's need for liquidity, and other future developments."

While Musk kept the sword hanging on Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal and the board, The Washington Post, among others, said he may have saved himself a cool $156 million by delaying the announcement that he held more than 5 per cent of Twitter stock.

This, it is argued, got him a better bargain. Ordinarily, such a delay attracts an SEC fine.