Majority of Twitter users vote for Elon Musk to resign – 19.12.2022, 18:36

In a poll launched by Elon Musk on Twitter, the majority of participants on Monday voted for the entrepreneur to leave the direction of the social network.

More than 17 million voters voted 57.5% in favor of the departure of Mr. Musk, who promised to respect the result but did not immediately react.

The billionaire posted on the social network from Sunday to Monday night, “Should I leave Twitter leadership?”

“I will stand by the results of this inquiry,” he said.

In an exchange with one of his Twitter followers, Mr. Musk confirmed that he has no designated successor. He said in another post that the platform was “speeding toward bankruptcy.”

Since late October, the Tesla and SpaceX boss has sparked controversy by cutting half of Twitter’s workforce, restoring suspended accounts, suspending journalists’ accounts and launching a new paid subscription.

Wedbush analyst Dan Ives notes, “From the botched subscription plan to the banning of journalists to the daily political squabbles, it’s been a whirlwind of advertisers fleeing and Twitter widening its deficit.” 4 billion dollars per year.

Mr. Musk is also under pressure from Tesla’s board to let go of Twitter and focus on the automaker, whose shares have fallen more than 33% since the social network’s acquisition, according to investment adviser Gary Black.

“The numbers are hard to ignore,” Mr Black said.

The inquiry, launched by Mr Musk, comes after the social network’s new decision sparked a backlash.

– Misunderstanding of the new rules –

Twitter announced Sunday that it will no longer be possible to post links to rival networks such as Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon or Truth Social, Donald Trump’s social network.

Now it is forbidden to tweet a message like “Thank you for following me on Instagram @ID”.

These new rules have caused confusion among many users, including Twitter co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey.

Mr Musk confirmed his decision after some accounts, including those of investor Paul Graham, were suspended under the new rule.

He first tweeted that instead of targeting individual tweets, the policy would be limited to “suspending accounts only when the primary purpose of that account is to promote competitors.”

Elon Musk during a press conference in Boca Chica, Texas on February 10, 2022 (AFP / JIM WATSON)

The tempestuous billionaire then claimed that “major political changes” on the social network would be subject to a systematic vote.

– Accounts suspended –

Last week, Mr. Musk deleted and then reinstated the accounts of several American journalists from CNN, the New York Times and the Washington Post, prompting a backlash from the European Union and the United Nations. The vice president of the European Commission even threatened the entrepreneur with sanctions.

The multibillionaire suspended his @elonjet account on Wednesday, which first automatically reported private jet trips, then accused journalists who tweeted about the decision of putting his family at risk.

These were restored on Saturday, but some said they needed to delete certain posts if they wanted to fully use the platform.

Washington Post journalist Taylor Lorenz’s Twitter account was also suspended for several hours on Saturday evening.

The journalist covering the technology sector said in his blog that “Elon Musk suspended my Twitter account.”

His account was restored on Sunday.

Kanye West and Donald Trump in New York on November 13, 2016 (AFP / TIMOTHY A. CLARY)

Since Mr Musk took the helm of Twitter, he has reinstated many banned accounts, including Mr Trump’s. It also ended the fight against disinformation related to Covid-19.

On the other hand, he suspended the account of rapper Kanye West after the publication of several messages deemed anti-Semitic and refused to return to the platform of far-right assassin Alex Jones.