Twitter vote to leave Musk sparks political outcry

Twitter users voted for Elon Musk to step down as head of the social media platform, sparking backlash against the billionaire less than two months after taking office.

According to the poll, which the billionaire conducted on Sunday evening, about 57.5% voted “yes”, and 42.5% opposed the idea of ​​leaving Musk as the head of Twitter. More than 17.5 million people voted.

Ahead of the results, Musk said he would abide by the results of the poll, but did not provide details on when he would step down if the results so warranted.

The results of the poll put an end to violent action in recent days, including the suspension of journalists reporting on the company, which drew widespread condemnation from news organizations, advocacy groups and officials across Europe.

The result sent shares of Musk’s car company Tesla higher as investors viewed the results of the vote in response to concerns that his Twitter leadership would interfere with his duties as head of the electric car maker. Tesla’s share price has fallen by almost a third since Twitter bought it in October. Since the purchase, he has spent a lot of time solving problems with the social networking service.

However, the poll prompted the US leader to express concern that Tesla’s board of directors is failing in its legal obligation to protect the electric car maker in the wake of Musk’s takeover of Twitter, and highlighted reports of social media use of Tesla employees. question.

Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren wrote to Tesla’s board of directors to question its role. “Despite widespread concerns that Mr. Musk took over Twitter when he was CEO of Tesla, it remains unclear whether Tesla’s board of directors, which has key decision-making powers in the company, is adequately managing the company or if these are clear rules. and rules. has directions. Designed. to address the risks associated with Musk’s dual role for Tesla.

Tesla did not respond to the letter.

Senator Warren cited reports that Musk had recruited more than 50 Tesla employees to work on Twitter, which “raised questions about the misappropriation of Tesla funds,” which she said violates the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the US financial regulator.

Critics have criticized his chaotic leadership style, reflected in abrupt policy changes, and fear that his preoccupation with Twitter stems from a snub at his other companies, including SpaceX.

Tesla investors are worried that Musk, known for his personal attention to detail and for personally involving him in decisions ranging from vehicle design to supply chain issues, is stepping aside at a critical time for the world’s largest electric car maker. Tesla shares rose about 3 percent in early trading. Shares have lost almost 60 percent of their value this year.

There are also concerns that he is using his Tesla shares to support Twitter. Musk has sold nearly $40 billion worth of Tesla shares in the past 12 months. During an internal meeting, he reportedly told Twitter staff that he was selling Tesla to save Twitter.

“If he (Musk) decides to step down, it could temporarily add optimism to Tesla stock in the hope that he finally gives the automaker the attention it needs,” said Suzanne Streeter, investment and market analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.

Analysts at Oppenheimer downgraded Tesla, saying negative sentiment on Twitter could persist in the long term and weigh in on Tesla.

Analysts have warned that Musk has no obvious successor at Twitter, with almost all of his senior employees fired or fired after his acquisition. Musk himself tweeted: “Nobody wants a job that can really keep Twitter alive. There is no successor” and “and since May the company has been on the path to bankruptcy.”

Regardless, former Meta boss Sheryl Sandberg has been suggested as a good candidate to lead Musk’s company.

Mark Butcher of TechCrunch told SkyNews: “Elon Musk is very moody, so it’s very hard to tell if he would actually follow the poll, but it’s more likely that he already had a plan in place before this poll was taken. Of one thing you can be sure: he will do what he wants … regardless of whether he said anything beforehand or not. It’s so easy, so we’ll have to wait and see.”

Twitter’s sudden suspension of accounts promoting rival social media platforms like Facebook has prompted a backlash even from longtime supporters.

Y-Combinator startup fund founder Paul Graham, who backed Musk in his Twitter acquisition deal, said over the weekend that he was taking a break from Twitter and asked his followers to post a link to his Mastodon account found on his personal website.

Mastodon is a social network advertised as an alternative to Twitter. Twitter suspended Graham’s account after it was posted, but later reinstated it.