Elon Musk Appears to Have Just Forced Himself Out of Twitter CEO Role with a Stunning Move: 'Careful What You Wish'
The baffling world of Elon Musk’s Twitter careened into a new chapter Sunday with the enigmatic billionaire appearing to lay the groundwork for him to step down as CEO of Twitter.
Since buying Twitter in October, Musk has been extremely hands-on, to the point where some shareholders of Tesla have become cranky that the electric car manufacturer has been forgotten while its CEO obsessively played with his new toy.
On Sunday, Musk offered up a poll.
“Should I step down as head of Twitter? I will abide by the results of this poll,” he tweeted.
Should I step down as head of Twitter? I will abide by the results of this poll.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 18, 2022
After 17.5 million votes were in, the verdict was 57.5 percent in favor and 42.5 percent opposed.
Musk then offered his response, writing, “As the saying goes, be careful what you wish, as you might get it.”
As the saying goes, be careful what you wish, as you might get it
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 18, 2022
After one Twitter user suggested Musk had the CEO already hand-picked and waiting in the wings, he replied: “No one wants the job who can actually keep Twitter alive. There is no successor.”
No one wants the job who can actually keep Twitter alive. There is no successor.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 19, 2022
To another user who offered to serve as CEO, Musk said: “You must like pain a lot. One catch: you have to invest your life savings in Twitter and it has been in the fast lane to bankruptcy since May. Still want the job?”
You must like pain a lot. One catch: you have to invest your life savings in Twitter and it has been in the fast lane to bankruptcy since May. Still want the job?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 18, 2022
A later tweet could have been connected or could have been one of the random firings of fingers that makes Musk’s eclectic Twitter account interesting enough to be followed by 122 million people.
“Those who want power are the ones who least deserve it,” he said.
Those who want power are the ones who least deserve it
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 19, 2022
In November, Musk told a court looking at his compensation package at Tesla that he expected his time running Twitter day to day would be short.
“There’s an initial burst of activity needed post-acquisition to reorganize the company, but then I expect to reduce my time at Twitter,” he said, according to The Guardian.
Some analysts said Musk stepping away from Twitter could be a good thing.
“Attention focused on Twitter instead of golden child Tesla has been another big issue for investors and likely is behind this poll result with many Musk loyalists wanting him to leave as C.E.O. of Twitter,” analysts Daniel Ives and John Katsingris at Wedbush Securities wrote, according to The New York Times.
They called Musk’s departure from day-to-day operations at Twitter “a major step forward” that would recognize “growing frustration around this Twitter nightmare that grows worse by the day.”
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