Elon Musk’s reign on Twitter is not over

Musk paid $44 billion for Twitter and then pushed the short message service to the brink of collapse. After a series of controversial decisions, Musk faces a poll. And the “voice of the people” demands his resignation.

Elon Musk’s days as CEO of Twitter could be numbered – if the multibillionaire sticks to the results of a study he launched himself on Sunday evening. 17.5 million users voted. And the result was clear: 57.5 percent voted for Musk to step down as “Head of Twitter.” 42.5 percent voted to keep the 51-year-old chairman in office.

The voting result is not representative. Elon Musk alone has more than 122 million followers on the platform. In comparison, 17.5 million votes is not that much. In principle, the survey was open to all members of the platform, but only for twelve hours. Musk had previously assured that he would abide by the result of the vote. “As the saying goes, ‘Be careful what you wish for, it may come true’.”

Suspicions about a planned recording are circulating

There are many indications that Musk made the decision before the poll to hand over day-to-day operations to Twitter. The multi-billionaire is known for launching polls to justify decisions already made.

Most famously, Musk asked on Twitter in the past if he should sell 10 percent of his shares in Tesla. This got him into trouble, among other things, with Tesla investors who felt ripped off. Documents released later revealed that Musk had long been negotiating a plan to sell the stock.

More time for Tesla again

The current vote on the possible resignation as “Head of Twitter” caused a storm of cheers among Tesla investors on the stock market. The share price of the manufacturer of electric cars rose by four percent before the stock market. Previously, major investors such as Ross Gerber, CEO of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management, had expressed fears that Musk was too distracted by his activities on Twitter and was not properly fulfilling his position as Tesla boss. Tesla shares had lost about half of their more than $1 trillion valuation since the spring.

Elon Musk acquired the short message service in October for $44 billion. According to experts, the price was much too high because Twitter has hardly made any profit so far and lags behind other social networks such as Facebook, Instagram or TikTok in terms of reach. $ 27 billion of the purchase price came from Musk himself, who had to sell Tesla shares on a large scale and is therefore no longer the richest man in the world.

13 billion of the purchase price was carried by Twitter as bank debt, with the rest contributed by investors such as Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, Qatar Holding and Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud. After the negative headlines of the past few weeks and the associated drop in ad revenue, Twitter investors and banks must now fear for their money.

Double standard in unlocking and banning accounts

To save costs, Musk laid off about half of the workforce immediately after taking office. In addition, a number of employees voluntarily left the company because they disagreed with Musk’s course. Controversial decisions included reactivating ex-US President Donald Trump’s suspended account, which was suspended after Trump supporters stormed the Washington Capitol in January 2021.

Among those who may be venturing back on Twitter is notorious neo-Nazi Andrew Anglin, whose anti-Semitic conspiracy theories and hate speech against dissidents have been deemed so dangerous by multiple courts that they’ve forced him to pay his victims millions. dollars have condemned.

On the other hand, Musk used his new power over Twitter to suppress publicly available information about his private jet’s location on the platform. The @ElonJet account has been blocked. In addition, Musk had the accounts of several journalists who had reported on the controversy blocked. After a storm of outrage, Musk had most journalist accounts reactivated.

Possible successors already in starting position

If Musk actually retires as Twitter boss, there are already some candidates who could become the new “Head of Twitter”. Investor Jason Calacanis (51) is the favourite. When Musk asked him during the negotiations if he would be his strategic advisor if the Twitter deal went through, Calacanis pledged allegiance in a text message: “Board member, advisor, whatever… You have my sword,” he wrote to Calacanis. “Put me in the game, coach! Twitter CEO is my dream job.”

But even if Musk allowed his confidant Calacanis or right-wing venture capitalist David Sacks as Twitter CEO, that wouldn’t count as firing. Musk remains the majority owner of the social network, which still gives him tremendous control over the direction of Twitter’s content. (cpf/sda/awp/dpa)