Washington
CNN
—
A twitter poll Asking if Elon Musk wants to be developed by “Step down as head of Twitter” concluded early Monday morning, with most respondents voting in the affirmative.
Musk had said he would abide by the results of a poll that began Sunday evening with 57.5% yes and 42.5% no.
More than 17 million votes were cast in an informal poll on his troubled Twitter leadership, which has been marked by mass layoffs and the reinstatement of suspended accounts that violated Twitter’s rules. Suspension of journalists Those who cover him and whip him Policy changes Generated and reversed in real time.
Musk did not immediately respond to the poll’s results.
The results of the poll come at a time when its business faces renewed challenges. Since Musk took over Twitter in October, many brands have suspended advertising on the platform. Musk has often said that Twitter’s financial situation is dire. Twitter is on pace to lose $4 billion a year after the advertiser pulls out, estimates Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities.
Responding to a tweet on Sunday, MIT artificial intelligence researcher Lex Friedman said he would take the CEO job, hinting that Musk wasn’t entirely happy with his new gig.
“You’ll love the pain so much,” Musk tweeted, noting that the company has been “on the fast track to bankruptcy since May.”
The survey also inspired other volunteers. Created by rapper Snoop Dogg himself Twitter poll Sunday evening, “Should I turn on Twitter?” As of Monday morning, it had received 1.3 million votes, with more than 80% of respondents saying yes.
However, Musk denied having a new CEO in mind.
“Nobody really wants the job to keep Twitter alive. No successor,” Musk tweeted. “The question is not finding a CEO, the question is finding a CEO who can keep Twitter alive.”
Musk has sold billions of dollars worth of Tesla stock, mostly to pay for his acquisition of Twitter. That has sent Tesla shares down 11% in the past month. But Tesla shares rose 5% in premarket trading after the poll results were released.
“This is a dark moment for Musk and a big upside for Tesla’s stock, which has continued to suffer in a brutal way since the Twitter soap opera began with a brand disintegration related to a real issue,” Ives said in a note to clients. Monday.
However, with or without the CEO title, Musk will certainly control the company’s direction.
After taking over Twitter, Musk disbanded the company’s board and its C-suite empty. As the company’s sole board director and owner, Musk can appoint the next CEO — and tell that person what to do.
Replacing Twitter’s former leadership, Musk has tapped venture capitalists and friends to work with him as he weighs several significant changes at the company. The list includes investor Jason Galaganis, Kraft Ventures partner David Sachs and Sriram Krishnan.
If Musk makes good on his promise and steps down, some of those people could now be on the short list to take over as CEO.
Shortly after Musk released his latest poll, Calacanis Posted a poll His own demand for who should be Twitter’s next CEO: he, Sacks, or Calaganis and Sacks together as co-CEOs.
According to this release, a fourth option won by a wide margin: “Other.”
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