Musk Lets Twitter Vote On His Resignation – Here’s It At Halftime
“Should I step down as head of Twitter?” Elon Musk asked on Twitter
“Should I resign as head of Twitter? I will abide by the results of this poll,” Musk wrote on Twitter. There was massive criticism beforehand: users would no longer be allowed to advertise other social platforms in the future, and the accounts of several US journalists were blocked.
Twitter owner Elon Musk has his platform voted on whether to resign as head of the social media platform. He announced that he would stick to the vote. More than twelve million users have already voted, with a fairly clear interim result.
Elon Musk, who is under fire over recent policy changes at Twitter, is asking Twitter users to vote on whether he should step down as head of the social media platform. Twitter’s new owner will abide by the poll’s results, he promised in a tweet Sunday night.
It could be as early as Monday afternoon. Unlike the previous survey, the survey is not designed to last 24 hours, but only to run for 12 hours. Voting will therefore end around 12:20 p.m. CET.
After a good six hours, more than twelve million users voted, according to the tweet, 56 percent voted for Musk’s resignation at that time, 44 percent rejected his resignation. Musk also tweeted that he would have important changes voted on in the future.
The US billionaire didn’t say when he would step down, if poll results suggest it does. “There is no successor,” Musk replied when asked by a Twitter user about a possible change in the post.
The company had previously drawn criticism for yet another change to its policies. Twitter announced that it would ban its users from advertising competing online platforms in the future. The ban applies, among other things, to links to FacebookInstagram, Mastodon and Truth Social.
Musk later explained that accounts would only be suspended “if the ‘primary’ purpose of that account is to advertise competitors.” He also announced that he would let users vote on “major policy changes” in the future. “I beg your pardon. Will not happen again.”
Musk has made a variety of controversial changes since taking over the social network. In the past he had always presented himself as a champion of freedom of expression. Among other things, Musk unlocked accounts that had been blocked for messages that were unwanted on Twitter before his takeover. There was displeasure about this, especially in left-wing circles.
Twitter also blocked the accounts of several prominent US journalists on Thursday. According to those affected, the closures were carried out without warning. The majority of the accounts have now been reactivated – but the criticism of the procedure was great. Many users then advertised the Twitter competitor Mastodon as an alternative – but also before that.
Musk’s involvement on Twitter worries Tesla investors that he could become increasingly distracted from leading the electric car maker in times of global economic weakness. Car expert Ferdinand Dudenhöffer also sees the quarrels surrounding the Twitter platform as a threat to Tesla’s success. Musk has to be careful “that he doesn’t go too far with his Twitter escapades in a direction that robs him of the sympathy he’s had so far,” Dudenhöffer told the Märkische Oderzeitung. “With his autocratic demeanor, Musk is becoming more and more of a risk for Tesla and Grünheide.”
When asked by the newspaper whether the “Twitter chaos” harmed the Tesla brand and the plant in Grünheide, Dudenhöffer replied: “Absolutely yes. Musk is becoming more and more entangled in contradictions, rules autocratically over an information platform, has to sell Tesla shares in order not to let his expensive Twitter takeover crash. ”The investment in Twitter also meant that there were no budgets that Musk might need for Tesla had, said Dudenhöffer. This in turn could make it more difficult to keep up the high pace at Tesla.