Musk drops plans to join Twitter board

NEW YORK, Apr 11 (Reuters): Elon Musk rejected Twitter Inc's offer to join its board, an abrupt turn even as he suggested ideas in a barrage of tweets ranging from removing advertisements to dropping the letter "w" in the social media company's name.

The board held many discussions with Musk, Twitter Chief Executive Officer Parag Agrawal said in a note posted to the site on Sunday, while warning of "distractions ahead." He did not, however, disclose the reason for the Tesla chief's rejection.

The latest surprise stoked chatter on everything ranging from the possibility of a buyout to his moves to avoid further attention from the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Musk was expected to join the board on April 9 following his disclosure of a 9.1 per cent ownership of Twitter shares, but the role would have capped his stake at 14.9 per cent.