Elon Musk not joining Twitter's board could mean 'Game of Thrones'-type battle: Wedbush
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Elon Musk's surprising decision not to join Twitter's (NYSE:TWTR) board of directors days after the two parties agreed to do so is an event that could lead to a battle reminiscent of the hit HBO show "Game of Thrones," Wedbush Securities said.
In a research note, analyst Dan Ives, who covers Tesla (TSLA), said the shocking decision likely happened after the two parties were unable to agree on how Musk communicated with the public, including his various polls, and opined that Musk "likely needed to take a more back seat/quiet stance as part of joining the Board."
As such, Ives believes the story is now likely to go from a "Cinderella story" with Musk joining the board and not increasing his stake to one that is a "Game of Thrones" battle between Musk and Twitter. Ives added there is a "high likelihood that Elon takes a more hostile stance towards Twitter and further builds his active stake in the company."
Twitter (TWTR) shares were slightly higher in premarket trading on Monday to $46.27, but had been down as much as 7% earlier.
Ives added that Musk no longer joining Twitter's (TWTR) board could lead to a few different scenarios, including teaming up with a private equity partner to force "major strategic changes."
It could also create "more noise and angst" for the company's board and executives, if Musk proposes various changes, as he has already done so. Twitter Chief Executive Parag Agrawal seemed to hint at this in his announcement that Musk would not join the board, tweeting that "there will be distractions ahead." 
A third, less likely scenario is that Musk decides to reduce his stake and go home, Ives added.
Last month, it was reported that Twitter's (TWTR) TweetDeck platform may become a subscriber-only platform.