57.5 percent of those surveyed spoke out for the tycoon’s departure from the social network
The majority of the participants in a survey launched by Elon Musk on Twitter voted this Monday in favor of the tycoon leaving the direction of the social network, whose control he assumed a few weeks ago.
Of the more than 17 million accounts that responded to the poll, 57.5 percent favored the departure of Musk, who on Sunday asked in a tweet: “Should I resign as head of Twitter?” and assured that he would abide by the result.
Musk, who is also the head of automaker Tesla and rocket company SpaceX, did not immediately react.
The businessman of South African origin personally assumed the reins of Twitter on October 27 after a controversial purchase agreement of the social network for 44 billion dollars.
Since then, several controversies have been generated with the dismissal of half of Twitter’s staff, the reinstatement of far-right figures on the platform, the suspension of journalists and the attempt to charge for services that were previously free.
Analysts have also noted that Tesla’s stock price has fallen by a third since Musk acquired Twitter.
“Hard to ignore the numbers since the [Twitter] deal closed,” tweeted investment expert Gary Black, saying he believed Tesla’s board of directors was pressuring Musk to step down from his Twitter role. .
In exchanges with users after publishing his latest survey, Musk claimed that he did not have a successor in mind and renewed his warnings that the platform could be on the road to bankruptcy.
bewildered dorsey
Musk, one of the world’s richest men, asked Twitter users if they wanted him to continue running the platform shortly after trying to shake off yet another controversy.
On Sunday, Twitter announced that users of the platform would no longer be able to include links to other social networks, such as Facebook or Instagram, in their posts. If they did, they would be subject to sanctions.
Hours later, Musk backtracked and assured that his intention was to “suspend accounts only when the ‘main’ objective of those accounts is the promotion of competitors.”
The attempted ban on posting links to other social networks drew complaints and disapproval and even puzzled Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, who had backed the Musk acquisition.
Dorsey questioned the new policy with a terse tweet: “Why?”
“Perfect storm”
Analyst Dan Ives of consultancy Wedbush called Musk’s tenure a “perfect storm.” He highlighted the massive defection from advertisers, which he said has left Twitter “in the red.”
Shortly after taking over the platform, Musk announced that the site would charge $8 a month to verify the identities of account holders. But he had to suspend the disputed “Twitter Blue” plan after an embarrassing spate of fake accounts.
On November 4, when Musk said the company was losing $4 million a day, Twitter laid off half of its 7,500 employees.
Musk also reinstated Donald Trump’s account, though the former US president indicated he had no interest in the platform and said Twitter would no longer work to combat misinformation about Covid-19.
In the latest controversy, Musk last Wednesday suspended the @elonjet account, which automatically reported the movements of the tycoon’s private jet, assuring that it could endanger his family.
He then temporarily suspended the accounts of several journalists who reported on the issue.
Employees of CNN, The New York Times and The Washington Post were among those affected in a move that drew strong criticism, including from the European Union and the United Nations.
Over the weekend, the Twitter account of journalist Taylor Lorenz, who covers the technology sector for the Washington Post, was itself suspended for several hours. It was restored on Sunday, but the @elonjet account was still suspended on Monday.