Musk Puts Future as Twitter CEO to Public Vote
Twitter users have voted in favor of Elon Musk stepping down as the social media platform's chief executive after the billionaire tweeted a poll on his future and said he would abide by the result.
Facts
- Twitter users have voted in favor of Elon Musk stepping down as the social media platform's chief executive after the billionaire tweeted a poll on his future and said he would abide by the result.
- The poll ended on Monday with 57.5% voting for Musk to leave his role. More than 17M users voted in the poll, but the vote is informal and it's unclear what Musk's next steps will be.
- In response to the poll, Musk tweeted, "As the saying goes, be careful what you wish, as you might get it.” Musk previously claimed nobody wanted the job as Twitter's CEO who could "actually keep Twitter alive.”
- Musk, who is also CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, previously signaled he would eventually give up the Twitter position. Musk told a Delaware judge in November he planned to reduce his time at Twitter and "find somebody else to run Twitter over time.”
- Tesla shares, which had sunk 11% over the past month, increased by 5% in premarket trading after the poll result was revealed. Twitter could potentially be on pace to lose $4B a year, confirming Musk’s claims that the platform's finances are dire.
- Musk acquired Twitter for $44B in October, promising to improve free speech and eliminate fake accounts. If Musk steps down, it’s unclear who would replace him.
Sources: BBC News, CNBC, Independent, Financial Times, CNN, and Sky News.
Narratives
- Narrative A, as provided by The Guardian. As the majority owner of a privately held company, no one can force Musk out. However, after his consistent run of baffling decisions, even some of the billionaire's closest backers are beginning to have enough. Since installing himself as CEO just 50 days ago, Musk has only created chaos in his time with the company and should pass the baton.
- Narrative B, as provided by The Washington Examiner. Since buying Twitter, Musk has been extremely erratic in his decision-making, and it’s unclear whether the billionaire is being strategic in order to generate interest in Twitter or if his moves are completely ad hoc. It’s not out of the question that his moves are calculated to unnerve the banks in order for Musk to buy back his Twitter debt at reduced rates.
