Most in Twitter poll say Musk should step down as CEO

A majority of respondents said Elon Musk should step down as head of Twitter in a poll he posted on the platform.

Musk published the 12-hour poll on his account on Sunday evening, and with 17.5 million total votes cast, 57.5 percent said Musk should step down while 42.5 percent said he should not do so.

“I will abide by the results of this poll,” Musk said in his Sunday tweet.

The newly minted Twitter CEO has warned of the platform’s financial state as he attempts to shift its revenue from advertising to Twitter’s new monthly subscription service, warning the company is close to filing for bankruptcy.

Should I step down as head of Twitter? I will abide by the results of this poll.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 18, 2022

“The question is not finding a CEO, the question is finding a CEO who can keep Twitter alive,” Musk tweeted on Sunday night.

Meanwhile, he has also faced a plunging Tesla stock in recent days as he continues leading Twitter. Shares of Tesla fell by 14.5 percent last week and more than 60 percent since the start of the year

But Musk indicated that he had not picked a successor to run Twitter.

“As the saying goes, be careful what you wish, as you might get it,” Musk wrote in a separate tweet minutes after posting the unscientific poll.

Musk has drawn the ire of liberals and many civil rights groups after closing his takeover deal of the social media platform in late October.

The Tesla CEO has said he wants to promote “free speech” on Twitter, but those groups have warned about a rise in hate speech and misinformation on the platform under relaxed content moderation policies.

Musk garnered widespread criticism last week when the platform suspended multiple prominent journalists who cover the billionaire, although their accounts were later restored.

He similarly polled Twitter users about their thoughts on the journalists’ suspensions, lifting the punishment after a majority of poll respondents said Musk should do so.