Elon Musk asked Twitter users on Sunday if he should resign as the platform’s CEO. In a Twitter “poll” that ended on Monday after 12 hours, more than 17 million votes were cast, and the results were crystal clear: 57.5 percent of the respondents said he should resign.
Mr. Musk had previously declared that he would respect the outcome of the vote. Mr. Musk did not immediately respond to the results of the vote on Twitter.
If he follows through, Elon Musk would cede control of the business that he paid $44 billion for in late October. Since then, the company has made numerous layoffs, advertising sales have decreased, executives have resigned, and numerous high-profile user accounts have been suspended due to violations of recently created policies.
On Sunday, Twitter announced a rule prohibiting users from sharing usernames and links from other social media sites like Instagram, Facebook, and Mastodon. Later, the same rule appeared to have been relaxed.
Should I step down as head of Twitter? I will abide by the results of this poll.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 18, 2022
However, the chaotic weekend was a breaking point for some users, including some former Musk supporters.
The founder of the start-up accelerator Y Combinator, Paul Graham, tweeted on Sunday that Mr. Musk’s most recent Twitter actions were “the last straw.”
Despite having backed Mr. Musk’s takeover, Mr. Graham stated on Sunday, “I give up. On my website, there is a link to my fresh Mastodon profile. His account was momentarily shut down.
About two dozen accounts that followed the whereabouts of private planes, including one that followed Elon Musk’s private flight, were suspended by Twitter last week.
The company cited a new rule that prohibited users from sharing the “live location” of other people. Some journalists’ accounts from The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, and other publications were also suspended last week, presumably in accordance with the same policy, before being restored after Elon Musk asked users to approve their reinstatement.
In a 3.7 million-vote “poll” on Twitter, 59% of respondents said “yes.”
Mr. Musk tweeted: “No one wants the job who can genuinely keep Twitter alive. After asking users if he should continue serving as Twitter’s CEO. There isn’t a replacement.
There are indications that Mr. Musk’s emphasis on and ownership of Twitter are affecting his other business endeavors. Since Mr. Musk bought Twitter, Tesla’s valuation has decreased. The day Mr. Musk closed the acquisition of Twitter, on October 27, the share price of the automaker was $225. Tesla stock ended the day on Friday at $150.
Mr. Musk said last week that he had sold further shares of Tesla stock worth $3.6 billion. Mr. Musk has now sold $23 billion worth of Tesla stock this year, a large portion of it following his April commitment to refrain from selling shares to finance his Twitter transaction.
Twitter received more attention than the Golden Child, With many Musk supporters wanting him to step down as Twitter’s CEO, Tesla has been another significant issue for investors and is likely what caused this poll outcome, according to analysts Daniel Ives and John Katsingris at Wedbush Securities.
With the billionaire now recognizing that there has been “increasing dissatisfaction surrounding this Twitter catastrophe that grows worse by the day,” they continued, Musk’s resignation from Twitter would be “a significant step forward.”
In premarket trading on Monday, Tesla shares increased by 3.4 percent to roughly $155.
Read More:
