‘I will resign’: Elon Musk delivers on Twitter promise to step down as chief executive

Twitter is set for a change of the guard, the billionaire owner of the social media company has confirmed – but there’s a catch.

Elon Musk has declared he will step down as Twitter chief executive.

The billionaire owner of the social media company tweeted on Wednesday that he would “resign” when he found someone “foolish enough” to replace him.

“After that, I will just run the software & (sic) servers teams,” Mr Musk tweeted.

It comes after Twitter users voted on Monday, local time, to oust Mr Musk from the top job – in a poll he vowed to “abide by”.

I will resign as CEO as soon as I find someone foolish enough to take the job! After that, I will just run the software & servers teams.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 21, 2022

The results of the poll showed about 58 per cent of the 17.5 million votes cast were in favour of the billionaire entrepreneur stepping back from his leadership role.

Mr Musk has been CEO of Twitter Inc. for just a matter of weeks and has caused havoc on the platform in that time, including banning reputable journalists who he accused of publishing his travel coordinates and putting him at risk of a long feared assassination attempt.

Previously, he promised to honour the results of the poll, which he organised.

Mr Musk, who is also the boss of electric car maker Tesla and rocket firm SpaceX, has not yet responded publicly to the results.

Elon Musk asked Twitter users in a poll: “Should I step down?” Picture: AFP

Mr Musk took over Twitter on October 27 and has repeatedly courted controversy, sacking half of its staff, readmitting far-right figures to the platform, banning journalists and trying to charge for previously free services such a verification – all while touting the platform’s main objective as freedom of speech.

On Sunday, Twitter users were told they would no longer be able to promote content from other social media sites.

But Mr Musk seemed to change his mind a few hours later, posting that the policy would be limited to “suspending accounts only when that account’s *primary* purpose is promotion of competitors”.

“Going forward, there will be a vote for major policy changes. My apologies. Won’t happen again,” 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

The stock price of Tesla has slumped by one-third since the Twitter takeover, leading analysts to speculate that Mr Musk must be under pressure from his Tesla board members to quit his Twitter position.

Shortly after taking over the platform, Mr Musk announced the site would charge $US8 ($A12) a month to verify account holders’ identities, but had to suspend the “Twitter Blue” plan after an embarrassing influx of fake accounts. It has since been revived.

On 4 November, with Mr Musk saying the company was losing $US4 million ($A6m) a day, Twitter laid off half of its 7,500-strong staff.

Mr Musk also reinstated the account of Donald Trump – though the former US president indicated he had no interest in the platform and had started his own.

Mr Musk also said Twitter would no longer work to combat Covid-19 disinformation.

In recent days, he suspended the accounts of several journalists after complaining some had published details about the movements of his private jet, which he claimed could endanger his family.

Elon Musk looks on during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Final match between Argentina and France at Lusail Stadium, Qatar. Picture: Dan Mullan/Getty Images

Employees of CNN, The New York Times and The Washington Post were among those affected in a move that drew sharp criticism, including from the European Union and the United Nations.

Most recently, Mr Musk was spotted attending the World Cup where he was photographed in the stands next to Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

—With AFP

Originally published as ‘I will resign’: Elon Musk delivers on Twitter promise to step down as chief executive