iNDICA NEWS BUREAU-
A Twitter poll by its owner Elon Musk on Monday revealed that 57% of those who voted want him to quit as the CEO of the microblogging platform, currently facing a myriad of issues ranging from banning journalists and other social media platforms amid Tesla stock nosediving.
Only 43 per cent followers want him as Twitter CEO, a job that has created all sorts of problems for him.
Musk started a poll asking users if he should quit as Twitter head and also assured that he will abide by the poll results.
“Should I step down as head of Twitter? I will abide by the results of this poll,” said the Tesla CEO.
A user commented, “Yep, he already has the new CEO picked out. Elon will retire as Chairman of the Board and Tweeter.”
To this, Musk replied: “No one wants the job who can actually keep Twitter alive. There is no successor.”
Last month, Musk had said that he does not want to be the CEO of any company, be it Tesla or Twitter.
He made the comment during testimony at a trial in the US, challenging his controversial pay compensation package at Tesla, and said that he does not wish to remain CEO of Twitter forever which he acquired in October.
This poll comes after Twitter Sunday announced it would ban accounts used to promote other accounts on other specific social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and Mastodon.
“We recognize that many of our users are active on other social media platforms. However, we will no longer allow free promotion of certain social media platforms on Twitter,” Twitter Support tweeted.
“Specifically, we will remove accounts created solely for the purpose of promoting other social platforms and content that contains links or usernames for the following platforms: Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon, Truth Social, Tribal, Nostr, and Post,” it added.
Moreover, Twitter said that it still allows cross-posting content from any social media platform. “Posting links or usernames to social media platforms not listed above are also not in violation of this policy.”
The change in Twitter rules comes at a time when Musk has faced some criticism for major policy changes on the platform.
Musk is also aiming to get more investors for Twitter at the original $54.20 per share price, at which he acquired the company for $44 billion.
On Friday, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was ‘very disturbed’ by Elon Musk’s suspension of journalists from Twitter and calls it a dangerous precedent.
“We are very disturbed by the arbitrary suspension of accounts of journalists that we saw on Twitter,” Guterres’ spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said during a press briefing.
He said media voices should not be silenced on a platform that professes to be a space for freedom of speech. The UN spokesperson said this move sets a dangerous precedent at a time when journalists all over the world are facing censorship, physical threats, and even worse.
On Thursday, Elon Musk-led Twitter suspended the accounts of several journalists with the site showing “account suspended” notices for them. After severe public backlash, the accounts were restored.
Since November 2021, Musk has sold more than $39 billion of Tesla shares.
The share sale comes at a time when Tesla investors have raised concerns over Musk’s $44 billion Twitter acquisition, saying his 24/7 involvement with the micro-blogging platform is “detrimental to Tesla”.
Tesla stock has nosedived around 60 per cent since January this year.
According to industry analysts, “the fresh stock sale is Musk’s answer to some of the high interest debt he’s paying on his $44 billion Twitter deal”.
Musk, who saw his net worth tumble by more than $100 billion in 2022, has been replaced by Bernard Arnault, the chief executive of luxury brand Louis Vuitton’s parent company LVMH, as the world’s richest man.