THE People have spoken.
The majority of Twitter users want the new microblogging site’s chief executive officer Elon Musk out of the platform after the business magnate created a poll asking if he should step down as the head of Twitter.
Of the 17,502,391 users who cast their votes, 57.5 percent of the total are in favor of Musk leaving the platform while 42.4 voted against his departure.
Minutes after putting up the poll, the CEO once again tweeted, saying “as the saying goes, be careful what you wish, as you might get it.”
Musk has promised to honor the results of the poll.However, as of writing, there was no information if Musk will step down and who his possible successor might be.
Under Musk’s management, Twitter has become more disorganized due to the company’s rapidly shifting policies, including the controversial reinstatement of accounts sharing false information and hate speech, and the relaunching of Twitter Blue which allows users to obtain blue check marks by paying $8.
Technology analyst Dan Ives tweeted that if Musk were to step down as CEO of Twitter and hire someone with a background in social media, this would be a “major positive for Tesla shares.”
According to a US media report, Tesla shares have plunged 35 percent since Musk took over Twitter, hurting investors who lost billions of dollars. On April 1, the final trading day before Musk announced he was acquiring Twitter shares, Tesla’s market capitalization was over $1.1 trillion. Since then, the firm has dropped 58 percent of its value at a time when competing car manufacturers are challenging Tesla’s monopoly on the selling of electric cars.
Musk’s changes to Twitter have spooked businesses and turned off users since he bought the company. He fired half the staff, removed contract content moderators, and abolished a trust and safety committee. He also scrapped COVID-19 misinformation guidelines and called for the criminal prosecution of top US infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci.
Musk also clashed with users on numerous fronts, and on Sunday, he asked Twitter users if he should remain in charge. He acknowledged that he made a mistake by banning mentions of competing social networking services, according to the report.
He recently announced a new feature of the platform called mute and block signals which will allow users, especially premium subscribers of Twitter Blue, to downvote a tweet if it’s irrelevant or offensive. This comes after he suspended and reinstated American journalists covering the troubles of the platform. – With reports from Associated Press.
