Elon Musk said he will step down as Twitter CEO but only after he finds a replacement, breaking more than a day of silence since he launched a Twitter poll in which millions of participants voted for his ouster.
In a tweet on Dec. 20, Musk said, “I will resign as CEO as soon as I find someone foolish enough to take the job!” However, Musk added he will continue running Twitter’s software and servers teams after the potential transition, suggesting he will remain in control of the company’s many decisions.
Musk started a poll on Dec. 18 asking his 122 million Twitter followers whether he should step down as head of Twitter. The poll ended on Dec. 19 with 57.5 percent of more than 17 million participants voting yes.
Until his latest tweet, Musk had addressed the outcome only in indirect ways. On Dec. 19, he said future polls on Twitter’s policies will be limited to subscribers of Twitter Blue, a paid service. He also shared a series of tweets from the accounts of Tesla and SpaceX promoting progress at those two companies.
Musk’s largest company, Tesla, has seen its share price decline 40 percent since Musk acquired Twitter in late October. Some of the electric carmaker’s largest shareholders have complained Twitter is too big a distraction for Musk and called for his resignation as Tesla CEO.
