Elon Musk remains silent about Twitter poll calling for his resignation

NEW YORK — Elon Musk has stayed silent on the results of a poll completed more than a day ago in which Twitter users voted for him to resign as the head of the platform. He pledged to abide by the outcome of the poll when he posted it.

Musk, who also runs electric vehicle maker Tesla, polled Twitter users Sunday night on whether he should step down as the leader of the social media platform.

The poll ended Monday morning, with 57.5% of voters saying he should step down and 42.5% saying he shouldn't.

While remaining mum about the poll results since Monday morning, Musk has tweeted more than 10 times, including a criticism of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., over a public letter she wrote to Tesla Chairwoman Robyn Denholm expressing concern about his ability to effectively lead the carmaker and Twitter at the same time.

Musk said on Sunday, prior to the poll ending, that he has not selected a successor for the top position at the social media platform.

"No one wants the job who can actually keep Twitter alive," Musk tweeted.

"As the saying goes, be careful what you wish, as you might get it," he also tweeted Sunday, later adding, "Those who want power are the ones who least deserve it."

The poll garnered nearly 15 million votes, roughly the same amount as a previous poll in which Musk asked users last month whether he should let former President Donald Trump back on the platform.

A user noted in a tweet that the poll regarding Musk's leadership of Twitter received far fewer "likes" than the poll over Trump's status, raising the possibility that bots played a larger role in the vote over Musk's leadership. In response, Musk tweeted, "interesting."

An individual also posted a message advocating that future polls over Twitter policy be restricted to users of the platform's subscription service, Twitter Blue, which costs $8 month. "We actually have skin in the game," the user said.Musk agreed, saying in reply, "Twitter will make that change."

Since he acquired Twitter in October, Musk has posted a flurry of controversial messages that have drawn attention to the platform.

Last week, he posted a viral tweet that called for Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top expert on infectious disease, to be prosecuted. In early November, he called on voters to cast their ballot for Republican candidates for Congress in the upcoming midterm elections, using his company to forward a partisan political objective.

Musk, who said he overpaid for the platform at the purchasing price of $44 billion, faces pressure to boost the company's revenue. Last month, he said that the company was losing $4 million a day.

The company relies almost entirely on advertising revenue, which depends on the number of users on the platform.

Before he acquired Twitter, Musk told reporters at the Met Gala in May that "he wants a much bigger percentage of the country to be on it, engaging in dialogue."

Meanwhile, Musk prompted backlash from lawmakers and figures across the political spectrum in response to Twitter suspending the accounts of more than half a dozen journalists who cover Musk at The New York Times, The Washington Post and other prominent outlets.

The journalists were initially suspended on Thursday without warning but Musk later told reporters in a Twitter Spaces interview that the banned accounts had shared real-time location information, an apparent reference to accounts that track the planes of public figures, including Musk.

The suspensions came days after Twitter banned accounts that had shared publicly available information on plane travel. The company imposed a new rule on the same day prohibiting the spread of real-time location information on the platform, after a stalker allegedly followed a car carrying Musk's son, Musk said.

The reporters' accounts were later reinstated.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.