Dec 20, 2022 - Technology

Musk says he will step down as Twitter CEO after poll

Illustration of the Twitter bird flying past Elon Musk, leaving droppings on his shoulder. — Photo illustration: Maura Losch. Photo: Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

Elon Musk tweeted Tuesday evening that he would resign as Twitter's CEO "as soon as I find someone foolish enough to take the job."

Why it matters: Musk’s day-to-day involvement with Twitter has so far been chaotic and unpredictable, but it’s unclear if a new leader will be able to address the company’s business and morale problems under Musk’s ownership.

The big picture: After a turbulent week, Musk had polled his followers on whether he should stay or go, and 57% urged him to quit.

Yes, but: Musk had already told the world last month that he did not plan to run Twitter for long after his purchase of the company and expected to hand it over to a successor.

Between the lines: Musk's Tuesday tweet also said that, once he steps down as CEO, "I will just run the software & servers teams."

Those engineering teams are the heart of any online platform's business, and running them is at least a full-time job.

Thought bubble: Investors at Tesla, Musk's biggest company and the source of his wealth, want him to extricate himself from his involvement with Twitter — but it doesn't sound like he really intends to leave.

If Musk sticks around to run Twitter engineering, the new CEO will have to negotiate being Musk's boss — and the company will still have to deal with his chaotic presence.

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Musk says he will step down as Twitter CEO after poll

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