Elon Musk has finally broken his silence after a Twitter poll recommended pulling away from the social media platform.
Musk said in his initial comments that only Twitter Blue subscribers will be able to vote in future political polls on the platform, as millions of users voted for his resignation as the site’s chief executive.
On Sunday, the Tesla boss said he would stand by the result of a highly unscientific poll he organized and promised to ask Twitter users if he should resign.
The result was confirmed Monday morning, with a total of 57.5 percent out of more than 17 million accounts voting for his resignation from his role.
Elon Musk has finally broken his silence after a Twitter poll recommended pulling away from the social media platform
Convicted fraudster Kim Dotcom suggested the results of Musk’s poll asking him to resign were skewed by fake accounts
“Interesting,” Musk replied, while also explaining that only Twitter Blue subscribers would be allowed to participate in political polls going forward
In response to another user’s suggestion that “blue subscribers should be the only ones who can vote in political polls,” Musk said, “Good point. Twitter will make this change.”
Elon Musk during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 final match between France and Argentina, held at the Lusail Stadium in Qatar on Sunday
Musk’s silence was finally broken just before 11:30 p.m. Monday when he responded “Interesting” to a suggestion by convicted fraudster Kim Dotcom, founder of the once hugely popular file-sharing site Megaupload, that the poll’s results were being skewed by fake accounts.
Usually a prolific user of the platform, Musk, who also runs automaker Tesla and rocket company SpaceX, did not tweet in the immediate hours after the poll.
His silence was finally broken just before 11.30pm Monday when he responded “Interesting” to a suggestion by convicted fraudster Kim Dotcom, founder of the once hugely popular file-sharing site Megaupload, that the poll’s results were being skewed by fake accounts.
In response to another user’s suggestion that “blue subscribers should be the only ones who can vote in political polls,” Musk said, “Good point. Twitter will make this change.”
His Twitter stream continued into the early hours of Tuesday, linking to the site’s World Cup stats and laughing at a satirical version of Bruce Wayne conducting a poll about his retirement as Batman.
Twitter Blue is a paid subscription that allows anyone to purchase a Blue Tick verified badge for their account.
Ahead of the poll’s conclusion, Musk tweeted, “The question isn’t find a CEO, the question is find a CEO who can keep Twitter alive,” the South African-born billionaire tweeted before the voting ended.
In a reply to another tweet, he added: “Nobody wants the job that can actually keep Twitter alive. There is no successor.’
Ahead of the poll’s result, Musk appeared to be interacting with people offering to fill his role as CEO
Kim Dotcom’s claim that the election for Musk’s resignation was rigged was ridiculed by many Twitter followers
Speaking to users after the release of his latest poll, Musk reiterated his warnings that the platform could be headed for bankruptcy.
Recourse to Twitter’s polling feature has been a favorite strategy of Musk’s to push through policy decisions, including restoring former President Donald Trump’s account.
The former US President has indicated he has no interest in rejoining the platform.
The Paris-based organization Reporters Without Borders, which defends press freedom worldwide, said the polls were a “crude and cynical” ploy.
“These methods appear to be democratic procedures, but in reality they are … the opposite of democracy,” said the group’s leader, Christophe Deloire.
In recent days, Musk has suspended several journalists’ accounts after complaining that some had released details about his private jet’s movements, which he claimed could endanger his family.
Twitter was hit by a growing series of controversies that Musk had sparked during his brief tenure at the top
Those affected included employees of CNN, the New York Times and the Washington Post, who were sharply criticized by the European Union and the United Nations, among others.
Some of the suspended accounts have since been reactivated.
On Sunday, Twitter users were told they could no longer promote content from other social media sites.
But Musk appeared to reverse course a few hours later, writing that the policy was limited to “only suspending accounts where the *primary* purpose of that account is to solicit competitors.”
“In the future there will be a vote on major policy changes. Excuse me. Won’t happen again,” he tweeted.
The attempted ban had drawn cries of disapproval and even confused Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, who had backed Musk’s takeover.
Dorsey questioned the new policy with a one-word tweet, “Why?”
Unpredictable entrepreneur Musk took full ownership of Twitter on October 27th.
His Sunday night poll came after weeks of controversial decisions, including firing half of Twitter’s global staff, reinstating far-right figures on the platform, suspending journalists and trying to charge for previously free services. Twitter has also said it would no longer work to combat Covid-19 disinformation.
Analysts have also pointed out that Tesla’s share price has fallen by a third since Musk took over Twitter. The share price briefly recovered 3.3 percent on Monday before falling.
Some online safety groups have accused the billionaire of allowing hate, abuse and misinformation to circulate more easily on the platform because of its free speech principles.
While it remains unclear who might replace Musk if he decides to step down, several commenters have noted that as Twitter’s owner, the billionaire would still have the final say on key decisions.