Twitter users have voted in favour of Elon Musk stepping down as chief executive, after the owner of the social media platform called on the public to have their say on his future.
Key points:
- About 57.5 per cent of respondents voted for him to step down
- When he launched the poll Mr Musk said he would abide by the result
- Mr Musk said in court last month he would eventually find a new leader for Twitter
A poll on Mr Musk’s account attracted about 57.5 per cent votes in favour of him stepping down from more than 17.5 million responses.
When he launched the poll on Sunday, Mr Musk said he would abide by the result, but did not give details on when he would step down if results said he should.
Last month, Mr Musk told a Delaware court that he would reduce his time at Twitter and eventually find a new leader to run the social media company.
Replying to one Twitter user’s comment on a possible change of CEO, Mr Musk said on Sunday, “There is no successor”.
The poll comes after Twitter’s policy update, which prohibits accounts created solely for the purpose of promoting other social media firms and content that contains links or usernames for rival platforms.
Tesla shares jump on news of poll
Shares of Tesla, the electric-car maker Mr Musk heads, were up about 5 per cent in pre-market trading.
Mr Musk, who lost his title as the world’s richest person earlier this month, also founded tunnelling enterprise Boring Company, backs medical device company Neuralink and heads rocket company SpaceX.
Tesla investors have been concerned Musk has been spreading himself too thin following the Twitter deal.
Tesla shares have already lost nearly 60 per cent of their value this year, as, like other car makers, it battles supply chain issues and increasing competition in the EV space.
“It appears Musk’s reign as CEO of Twitter will come to an end and thus be a major positive for Tesla’s stock, starting to slowly remove this albatross from the story,” Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said in a note.
“Musk is Tesla and Tesla is Musk.”
Tesla is ranked among one of the top automakers in the world, delivering roughly about a million cars every year. But recent logistical challenges, pandemic-related lockdowns in China, higher borrowing costs and a dull outlook for global economic growth have raised concerns.
Last month, Musk told a Delaware court that he would reduce his time at Twitter and eventually find a new leader to run the social media company.
Reuters / ABC