Twitter Inc (NYSE: TWTR) on Tuesday confirmed it has been working on an edit button since last year and that the idea for the feature did not come from Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) CEO Elon Musk, the newest board member and the largest stakeholder at the microblogging site.
What Happened: Tweets from the company’s social media handle as well Jay Sullivan, head of consumer product, confirmed the development, adding that the company plans to begin testing the feature with Twitter Blue, a paid version of the social networking service.
The social media firm's communications team first tweeted that it has “... been working on an edit feature since last year!” and that the company “didn't get the idea from a poll,” referring to Musk’s poll on Monday asking users if they want an edit button.
Musk’s poll secured 4.4 million votes, with 73.6% in favor of an edit button.
Sullivan later tweeted to say the edit feature has been the most requested feature for many years as users want to fix their “mistakes, typos and hot takes.”
“Without things like time limits, controls, and transparency about what has been edited, Edit could be misused to alter the record of the public conversation,” Sullivan wrote in a Twitter thread.
5/ This is just one feature we are exploring as we work to give people more choice and control over their Twitter experience, foster a healthy conversation, and help people be more comfortable on Twitter. These are the things that motivate us every day.
— Jay Sullivan (@jaysullivan) April 5, 2022
Why It Matters: Twitter on Tuesday named Musk as its newest board member, just a day after the billionaire entrepreneur revealed a 9.2% stake worth $2.8 billion, making him the largest shareholder in the microblogging company.
“I’m excited to share that we’re appointing @elonmusk to our board!” Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal said on Tuesday.
“Through conversations with Elon in recent weeks, it became clear to us that he would bring great value to our Board.”
Musk was quick to respond, saying he is looking forward to working with “Parag & Twitter board to make significant improvements."
Looking forward to working with Parag & Twitter board to make significant improvements to Twitter in coming months!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 5, 2022
Musk's term as a director will last until 2024. Under the new agreement with Twitter, Musk is prohibited from acquiring more than 14.9% of the company.
Price Action: Twitter stock closed 2% higher at $50.9 a share on Tuesday, as per Benzinga Pro.
