Twitter users vote in poll to oust Elon Musk as CEO

SAN FRANCISCO — Twitter users have voted to oust owner Elon Musk as chief executive officer in a poll he organized and promised to honor, just weeks after he took charge of the social media giant.

A total of 57.5 percent of more than 17 million accounts voted for him to step down. On Tuesday, Musk, who also runs the carmaker Tesla and the rocket firm SpaceX, had yet to react publicly to the results.

"The question is not finding a CEO, the question is finding a CEO who can keep Twitter alive," the South African-born billionaire tweeted before the vote closed.

In a response to another tweet, he added: "No one wants the job who can actually keep Twitter alive. There is no successor."

Musk has fully owned Twitter since Oct 27 and has repeatedly courted controversy as chief executive, sacking half of its staff, suspending journalists and trying to charge for services that had been free.

Analysts have also pointed out that the stock price of Tesla has slumped by one-third since Musk's Twitter takeover. The share price briefly rallied by 3.3 percent on Monday before fading.

"It's hard to ignore the numbers since (the Twitter) deal closed," tweeted investment expert Gary Black, saying he reckoned Tesla's board was putting pressure on Musk to quit his Twitter role.

In discussions with users after posting his latest poll, Musk renewed his warnings that the platform could be heading for bankruptcy.

The organization Reporters Without Borders in Paris said the polls were a "crude and cynical" ploy.

"These methods appear to be democratic procedures, but in reality they are … the opposite of democracy," said the group's head, Christophe Deloire.

On Sunday, Twitter users were told they would no longer be able to promote content from other social media sites.

However, Musk seemed to reverse course a few hours later, writing that the policy would be limited to "suspending accounts only when that account's 'primary' purpose is the promotion of competitors".

In recent days, Musk suspended the accounts of several journalists after complaining some had published details about the movements of his private jet, which he said could endanger his family.

Employees of CNN, The New York Times and The Washington Post were among those affected in a move that drew sharp criticism, including from the European Union and the United Nations.

On Monday, the Speaker of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, sent a letter to Musk inviting him to testify before the legislature, her spokesman said.

Agencies via Xinhua