Millions Demand Musk Step Down as Twitter Head As He Vows To Abide by Poll

Some 7.8 million people have demanded Elon Musk to step down as head of Twitter in a poll by the outspoken entrepreneur, after a tumultuous few weeks running the platform that has seen the billionaire advocate for free speech while moving to silence some of his most strident critics.

On his official Twitter account on Sunday, Musk wrote: “Should I step down as head of Twitter? I will abide by the results of this poll.”

Some 56.7 percent of the 13.78 million votes (around 7.81 million) said he should step down, while 43.3 percent (around 5.97 million) said he should stay in the post, as of press time.

However, last month, Musk stated in court that he would step down and appoint a new CEO of the company.

Musk, the world’s second richest man, is also CEO at electric carmaker Tesla, as well as space company SpaceX. He also leads nanotechnology business Neuralink and The Boring Company, which constructs infrastructure and tunnels.

The businessman bought Twitter for $44 billion in late October. The deal nearly fell through after Musk pulled out of the deal, accusing the social media site of not being transparent about the number of bots and spam accounts on its platform.

Since taking over the social media site, Musk has attracted controversy over his reforms.

He fired more than half of Twitter’s staff and allowed back previously banned users, including former President Donald Trump.

Musk has also introduced an $8-a-month paid Twitter verification service, which has led to many accounts masquerading as celebrities and politicians.

Last week, he moved to suspend several accounts of journalists that were reporting on him, a move that was widely criticized as Musk has long claimed to be an advocate of “free speech.” Musk said he suspended the accounts of these journalists because they endangered his family by “doxing” or sharing non-public information, about his location. Musk later created a poll on his Twitter account about whether the journalists’ suspensions should be lifted, and 58.7 percent said they should be, so he lifted the suspension. The journalists were from outlets including CNN, The New York Times and the Washington Post.

Tesla investors have voiced their concerns about Musk being at the helm of the social media site. Shares in the electric car company have dropped since Musk has been running Twitter. Since mid-September, Tesla shares have halved from $300 per share to around $150 per share.

“I’m a @Tesla investor and I want @elonmusk to get off @Twitter. The value of my shares has been cut in half since he made his move to take over this platform. I love my Model 3, but he is killing the company with his antics,” Joe Cirincione tweeted on December 16.

Ross Gerber, an investor in both Tesla and Twitter who supported Musk’s Twitter bid, tweeted the following day: “I think it is in the best interest for tesla shareholders for Elon to be back at Tesla working full time. I hope that he finds a ceo for Twitter in q1 and he makes the transition out of being Twitter ceo. If elected to the BOD I will work to create a clear timeline.”

Newsweek has contacted Twitter for comment.