Elon Musk announced on Tuesday that he will stand down as Twitter’s CEO once he found a successor, ostensibly in reaction to the results of a poll he had conducted that suggested users wanted him to go.
Since October 27, Musk has completely taken control of Twitter. As CEO, he has frequently courted controversy by firing half of the company’s employees, re-admitting far-right leaders to the site, suspending journalists, and attempting to charge for previously free services.
“I will resign as CEO as soon as I find someone foolish enough to take the job!” Musk tweeted, saying he will then only run software and server teams at Twitter.
Just weeks after buying the company for $44 billion, 57 percent of respondents—or 10 million votes—favored Musk stepping down. The survey findings were released on Monday.
Musk has used Twitter polls to make other choices on the social media network, including reactivating Donald Trump’s account and the accounts of other suspended users.
He mocked a rumor that he was looking for someone to take over as CEO of Twitter earlier this week by mocking it with a laughing emoji and tweeting that “no one wants the job who can genuinely keep Twitter alive.”
Analysts have pointed out that the stock price of his electric car company Tesla has slumped by one-third since Musk’s Twitter takeover, and some suggest Tesla’s board was putting pressure on him to quit his Twitter role.
“Finally a good step in the right direction to end this painful nightmare situation for Tesla investors,” said Wedbush analyst Dan Ives on Tuesday.
After publishing his most recent survey, Musk engaged in conversations with users, reiterating his earlier cautions that the platform might be in financial trouble.
