Musk Stays Silent Eight Hours After Ballot Supporting His Resignation As Twitter CEO Ends

Topline

Elon Musk has but to handle the outcomes of his ballot by which hundreds of thousands of Twitter customers mentioned they need the billionaire to resign as Twitter CEO, in what might be a weird however becoming finish to the billionaire’s two-month tenure on the helm of the social media firm.

Elon Musk, middle, on the World Cup ultimate on Sunday.

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Key Info

Musk tweeted a ballot Sunday night asking if he ought to step down as Twitter’s head honcho and promised to “abide” by the outcomes.

Customers overwhelmingly supported his resignation, as 57.5% of the 17.5 million respondents voted in favor of Musk’s ouster, with the outcomes finalizing Monday at 6:20 a.m. EST.

Musk has not posted since late Sunday, when he shared a number of cryptic posts about Twitter’s doomed future with out him in cost after which questioned the media’s alleged lack of consideration towards crossings on the U.S.-Mexico border in a 9 p.m. submit Sunday, his most up-to-date exercise on the location.

Key Background

Musk agreed to purchase Twitter at a $44 billion valuation in April, and formally took energy of the corporate October 27 after attempting to again out of the deal for six months. Musk instantly fired Twitter’s incumbent CEO Parag Agrawal and put in himself within the submit, additionally sacking most different executives and shrinking Twitter’s whole headcount by over 50%. An avowed critic of Twitter’s content material moderation and alleged liberal “bias,” Musk rapidly reinstated many beforehand banned customers, principally with far-right politics. However Musk’s dedication to “free speech absolutism” got here into query final week after Twitter suspended a preferred account monitoring the situation of Musk’s non-public jet and the accounts of a number of journalists vital of Musk and banned hyperlinks to different social media websites (among the journalists’ accounts had been restored). Quite a few Twitter advertisers halted advertisements on the location throughout Musk’s reign, a large blow to the corporate’s backside line contemplating advertisements accounted for greater than 90% of Twitter’s income earlier than it went non-public.

What We Don’t Know

Who would take over as Twitter CEO. Musk’s resignation and firing of different prime officers leaves the corporate with a large energy vacuum. Musk tweeted Sunday he has not chosen a successor, claiming, “No one wants the job who can actually keep Twitter alive.”

Essential Quote

“Those who want power are the ones who least deserve it,” Musk posted Sunday. It’s unclear who Musk, additionally the CEO of the world’s most precious carmaker Tesla and the non-public $140 billion aerospace agency SpaceX, was referring to. Musk claimed in Delaware courtroom final month he didn’t “want to be CEO of any company,” additionally testifying he deliberate to “find somebody else to run Twitter over time.”

Massive Quantity

61%. That’s how a lot Tesla shares fell since Musk disclosed he took a majority stake in Twitter on April 4, far outpacing the S&P 500’s 17% decline in the course of the interval. Tesla shares rose as a lot as 4.7% in pre-market buying and selling Monday earlier than settling right into a 0.1% day by day decline amid a broader selloff.

Chief Critic

“This has been a black eye moment for Musk,” Wedbush analyst Dan Ives wrote in a Monday word to shoppers. Musk is “finally reading the room” if he resigns and refocuses his consideration on the “golden child Tesla,” Ives mentioned. Musk offered $22.9 billion in Tesla inventory since he first agreed to purchase Twitter, fueling the Tesla decline as buyers soured on Musk dedicating his consideration and assets to the social media firm.

Forbes Valuation

We estimate Musk to be value $163.6 billion, making him the second-wealthiest individual on this planet, trailing solely French luxurious tycoon Bernard Arnault.