Shortly after facing major backlash over the introduction of a new policy that would see links to outside social media platforms banned on Twitter, Elon Musk posted a poll asking users to vote on whether he should continue as CEO. 57 percent of respondents voted that it was time for Musk to step down. Although it isn’t clear if Musk will actually step down, his Tesla shareholders are likely hoping he will.
The New York Times reports that Elon Musk’s Twitter has continued to have a dramatic few days over the past week. Breitbart News reported on the banning of the @ElonJet account, the subsequent banning of media figures that reported on the account ban, the abrupt shutdown of the Twitter Spaces feature, calls for Musk to step down as CEO of Tesla by the company’s third-biggest shareholder, and now the possibility of Musk stepping down as Twitter CEO.
Twitter recently introduced a new policy — that now may be removed or heavily modified — that would make it a bannable offense for Twitter users to share links and usernames from other social media platforms. This would mean that accounts with their Instagram account in their profile bio, or even a service like Link.Tree that allows content creators to list all the platforms they can be found on, would be banned from the platform.
Paul Graham, a founder of the startup accelerator Y Combinator who has previously been a vocal supporter of Musk, tweeted his anger at the new policy, calling it “the last straw” and stating that he would be moving from the platform. Graham was temporarily suspended from Twitter for a tweet that doesn’t even include a link:
This is the last straw. I give up. You can find a link to my new Mastodon profile on my site.https://t.co/bbmZ4yvAJH
— Paul Graham (@paulg) December 18, 2022
However, as can be seen in that tweet, the Twitter policy page that Graham linked to no longer exists. It would appear that following significant backlash over the policy, Twitter has reverted the decision within 24 hours.
If you’re going to keep doing stuff like this, yes. pic.twitter.com/cZ76VRxROo
— MrBeast (@MrBeast) December 19, 2022
The policy seems to have been amended only to affect accounts whose main purpose was to promote social media competitors. “Going forward, there will be a vote for major policy changes,” Musk tweeted. “My apologies. Won’t happen again.”
Backlash appeared to be so intense, that Musk himself posted a Twitter poll asking whether he should step down as the head of Twitter, stating that he will “abide by the results of the poll.” The poll ended with 57 percent of voters choosing “Yes,” meaning if Musk sticks to his word he will no longer be operating as the head of Twitter.
Should I step down as head of Twitter? I will abide by the results of this poll.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 18, 2022
Shortly after tweeting the poll, Musk stated: “No one wants the job who can actually keep Twitter alive. There is no successor.”
Along with pressures from the Twitter community, Musk is facing significant pressure from Tesla investors who have suffered massive losses and question the amount of time he spends on his new company. One such investor is KoGuan Leo, the company’s third-largest shareholder.
Futurism reports that KoGuan Leo, Tesla’s third-largest shareholder and a self-professed Elon Musk “fanboy,” is calling to remove Musk as CEO of Tesla. In a tweet, Leo stated that Musk has “abandoned Tesla and Tesla has no working CEO.”
In another tweet, Leo stated that “Elon was the proud father, Tesla has grown up. An executioner, Tim Cook-like is needed, not Elon.”
Read more at the New York Times here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan
