Elon Musk announced that he will stand aside as Twitter’s CEO once he found a successor, seemingly in response to a poll he had conducted that indicated users preferred he do so.
Since October 27, Musk has completely taken control of Twitter. As CEO, he has frequently courted controversy by firing half of the company’s employees, re-admitting far-right leaders to the site, suspending journalists, and attempting to charge for previously free services.
“As soon as I find someone stupid enough to take the job, I’ll step down as CEO!” Musk stated that he would then only be in charge of Twitter’s software and server teams.
Only weeks after buying the firm for $44 billion, 57% of respondents—or 10 million votes—favored Musk stepping down, according to the survey results that were released on Monday.
Elon Musk has used Twitter polls to make other choices on the social media network, including reactivating Donald Trump’s account and the accounts of other suspended users.
He mocked a rumour that he was looking for someone to take over as CEO of Twitter earlier this week by mocking it with a laughing emoji and tweeting that “no one wants the job who can genuinely keep Twitter alive.”
Analysts have noted that Musk’s electric car business Tesla’s stock price has fallen by one-third since Musk took over Twitter, and some have speculated that the board of Tesla put pressure on Musk to resign from his position there.
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said on Tuesday that it was “finally a good move in the right way to resolve this agonising nightmare situation for Tesla investors.”
After publishing his most recent survey, Musk engaged in conversations with users, reiterating his earlier cautions that the platform might be in financial trouble.
Electoral politics?
Shortly after attempting to get out of yet another controversy, the erratic businessman tweeted his poll regarding his resignation.
Twitter users were informed on Sunday that they will no longer be able to advertise material from other social media platforms.
A few hours later, Musk appeared to change his mind, stating that the regulation will only apply to accounts whose “main goal is promotion of competitors.” The attempted restriction sparked shouts of protest, and even Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, who had supported Musk’s takeover, was perplexed by it.