Elon Musk hedges as Twitter quitter

Elon Musk appears to have created the biggest job vacancy in Silicon Valley. But will anyone apply?

Twitter chief executive Elon Musk. Picture: AFP

Elon Musk appears to have created the biggest job vacancy in Silicon Valley. But will anyone apply?

He has promised to abide by the results of a poll that called on him to step down as the head of Twitter – 57.5 per cent in favour to 42.5 per cent against. But as his friend, author Jason Calacanis, asked in a tweet: “Who would like the most miserable job in tech AND media?! Who is insane enough to run twitter?!?!”

Musk was not trying to put a gloss on the job description when he tweeted: “You must like pain a lot. One catch: you have to invest your life savings in Twitter and it has been in the fast lane to bankruptcy since May. Still want the job?

“No one wants the job who can actually keep Twitter alive. There is no successor. As the saying goes, be careful what you wish, as you might get it.”

A month ago John Legere, former chief executive of telecommunications company T-Mobile, made an offer to Musk that many Twitter and Tesla investors had been calling for: “You can stop managing daily business and ‘content moderation’ and then support product/technology, let someone else ‘run’ Twitter.” Musk turned him down.

The poll has left many wondering whether a change will be anything but cosmetic, given Musk owns most of Twitter’s diminishing equity. Memes have popped up suggesting a puppet chief executive might be installed, or the Tesla boss continue in the role in disguise, perhaps as “Eleana Musk”.

Hours after the result, there was an uncharacteristic silence from Musk on a replacement but he has been open about trying to find someone else to run the platform. The billionaire said recently: “I expect to reduce my time at Twitter and find somebody else to run Twitter over time.”

Many believe the poll was linked to troubles at Tesla, whose shares have fallen 55 per cent this year, hitting Musk’s personal fortune. He lost his title as the world’s richest person last week to Bernard Arnault, the French boss of luxury goods group LVMH.

Musk has sold Tesla shares worth $US22.9bn since he disclosed plans to buy Twitter earlier this year. Reports last week that he was seeking to sell more Twitter shares to raise finance for the platform paints a dire picture of a company burning through cash.

Tesla investors have been clamouring for him to step down from Twitter. Leo Koguan, the Chinese-American businessman who is the firm’s third-largest individual investor, tweeted this week: “Elon abandoned Tesla and Tesla has no working CEO … I wish Elon quickly finds new CEO of Twitter.”

Daniel Ives, a director at Wedbush Securities, said the Twitter experience had bruised Musk and Tesla. He told BBC radio: “It’s been a black eye for Musk and a black eye for Tesla. And I think, ultimately, that’s the golden child. That’s 90 per cent plus of his wealth. And I think that’s why the writing’s on the wall.”

Musk posted the poll hours after he left the World Cup final in Qatar, where he was pictured with Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law. The Qatar Investment Authority has ploughed $US375bn into Twitter.

The result came after he acknowledged an error in banning mention of rival social media websites. He also reversed a decision to ban several journalists who shared a link to a Twitter feed, since suspended, that tracked his private jet.

Social media analyst Matt ­Navarra said: “These actions sent shockwaves through core users. I wonder how much of a poisoned chalice the job will be.”

Rapper Snoop Dogg has mischievously put himself forward. And who knows? Observers have learnt to expect the unexpected when dealing with Musk.

The Times