In a strong response to a recent Twitter poll posted by Elon Musk, users of the platform have called for him to relinquish his position as CEO. Musk has responded that he’ll step down when he “finds someone foolish enough” to take over as CEO, saying he will run the software and server teams instead. But any replacement will need to be able to steer Twitter back to calmer waters, with Musk remaining majority owner.
It’s been a tumultuous year for Twitter and Musk. He began building up shares in the company in January 2022 and his US$44 billion (£36 billion) bid to buy the platform was accepted in April. He then tried to pull out of the deal in July, before finally taking ownership in October. Since then he has made – and sometimes walked back – numerous changes to the popular social media platform.
Indeed, Musk’s reaction to finally getting his hands on Twitter has been reminiscent of Christmas morning, when children rip open presents, display initial excitement and then quickly lose interest. Musk may have imagined that owning the website would be fun and make him feel powerful.