Debate Over 'Twitter Without Musk'... "Greater Progress"

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] As the results of Elon Musk's resignation vote on Twitter have been announced, debates continue over the future of "Twitter without Musk." Opinions suggest that if Musk, who stirred controversy with his capricious and impulsive management style, steps down as CEO less than two months after acquiring Twitter, the "owner risk" will be resolved and company management will normalize. However, there are also forecasts that the situation could become even more unpredictable.

The Washington Post (WP) predicted on the 19th (local time) that if Musk follows the vote results and resigns as Twitter CEO, the company could face greater uncertainty. Even if Musk steps down from Twitter management, he could still wield significant control over Twitter policies as the owner. WP diagnosed that abuse of ownership without legal responsibility for management could lead to a more unpredictable situation than the chaos that continued for two months after Musk acquired Twitter.

WP pointed out, "Musk is known for using Twitter polls to confirm decisions he has already made, like adding fuel to a burning fire," and added, "He likely had already decided to step down as CEO before putting the question to an online poll." It also reported that when Musk put an online poll on whether to sell 10% of his Tesla shares, he had already prepared the transaction for the sale.

The New York Times (NYT) viewed the resolution of owner risk following Musk's resignation as a positive development for Twitter. NYT said Musk must have experienced significant frustration in managing Twitter and evaluated, "Musk's resignation will be a major step forward for Twitter." Musk had previously stated that he did not plan to hold the Twitter CEO position long-term. If Musk, who is under financial pressure from the Twitter acquisition, accepts investors' demands to resolve owner risk and gives up the CEO position, Twitter management could stabilize quickly.

Bloomberg recently reported that Musk is seeking new investors to provide funds for Twitter. There were also reports that he is considering taking out loans using Tesla shares as collateral to reduce the high-interest debt incurred during the acquisition process. Following the acquisition, controversies arose due to the dissolution of the board, ruthless mass layoffs, and the restoration of former U.S. President Donald Trump's account, leading to a mass exodus of advertisers and ongoing management turmoil at Twitter.

Earlier, from 6:20 PM the previous day for 12 hours, Musk conducted a vote on Twitter asking, "Should I step down as Twitter head?" Over 57.5% of the approximately 17.5 million respondents voted in favor of Musk's resignation as head. Musk has not yet issued an official statement regarding the vote results.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.