Elon Musk will step down as Twitter chief - once he finds someone 'foolish enough to take the job'
21 December 2022, 06:15
Elon Musk has confirmed he will resign as Twitter boss, after his own poll suggested most of the site's users want him to leave, but added that he will only step down once he finds someone "foolish" enough to want to replace him.
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Mr Musk, who bought Twitter two months ago and has endured a turbulent reign, asked users on Sunday night if they thought he should quit - and said he would stand by the result.
Some 58% told him to step down. Although he questioned the result, Mr Musk confirmed in a tweet early on Wednesday morning that he would relinquish his role as head of the social media platform once he finds a successor.
Mr Musk wrote: "I will resign as CEO as soon as I find someone foolish enough to take the job!
"After that, I will just run the software & servers teams."
Some have speculated that possible successors include Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, who Mr Musk was seen talking to at the World Cup final, or Jack Dorsey, the company's co-founder and two-time former CEO.
Since Mr Musk bought the social media giant in October, he has embarked on a mass sacking spree and pledged to police expression on the platform differently, saying that while hate speech within the law would not be taken down, it would be made less visible.
Read more: Musk bought Twitter to 'say gross things without being called gross' says James O'Brien
His approach has led to support and criticism, with detractors worrying about whether poor behaviour would gain traction on the site.
Most recently, he gained controversy when the accounts of journalists who criticised him were suspended, claiming they had "doxxed" him and put him at risk by live tracking him. He unbanned them after a vote.
After the results of his poll came in, he warned: "As the saying goes, be careful what you wish, as you might get it."
And another tweet said: "Those who want power are the ones who least deserve it."
Ross Gerber, who invests in Tesla and Twitter, sends message to Elon Musk
In replies to Twitter users, he said: "The question is not finding a CEO, the question is finding a CEO who can keep Twitter alive."
He claimed: "No one wants the job who can actually keep Twitter alive. There is no successor."
Mr Musk has implemented a Twitter Blue subscription service, saying such a move was needed to stop the platform from going bankrupt, among a raft of other reforms he said are necessary to keep it afloat.
