Twitter Without Musk... Chaos or Progress? (Comprehensive)

Online Survey Shows Majority Support for Resignation

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] Amid the vote results showing support for Elon Musk stepping down as Twitter's Chief Executive Officer (CEO), debates continue over the future of "Twitter without Musk." Opinions range from the company’s management normalizing as the "owner risk" is resolved with Musk’s departure?given his controversial, erratic, and impulsive management style?to concerns that the platform could face even greater unpredictability.

The Washington Post (WP) forecasted on the 19th (local time) that if Musk follows the vote results and resigns as Twitter CEO, the company could plunge into even greater uncertainty. This is due to concerns that Musk, even after stepping down from management, would still wield significant control over Twitter’s policies as the owner. WP assessed that this could lead to a more unpredictable situation than the chaos that lasted for two months after Musk acquired Twitter.

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

The New York Times (NYT) viewed the resolution of owner risk as a positive development for Twitter. The NYT stated that Musk himself must have experienced significant setbacks in managing Twitter and evaluated, "Musk’s resignation would be a major step forward for Twitter." Given that Musk is under financial pressure from acquiring Twitter, the NYT reasoned that if he accepts investors’ demands to resolve owner risk and relinquishes the CEO position, Twitter’s management could stabilize quickly. Musk had previously indicated that he did not plan to hold the CEO position long-term.

This vote came right after a turbulent week in which Musk suspended the Twitter accounts of prominent journalists critical of him en masse. Musk faced simultaneous accusations of press suppression due to the account suspensions, and the negative fallout spread to Tesla, whose stock price dropped more than 10% in the past week. Alarmed, Twitter soon restored the suspended journalists’ accounts, but the controversy has not subsided.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) interpreted Musk’s recent actions as closely related to financial difficulties, including high-interest debt incurred from acquiring Twitter. WSJ reported that Musk, by holding a vote on his own position and pledging to abide by the results, is attempting a final twist after a turbulent period following the acquisition. Musk sparked controversy by dissolving the board immediately after the acquisition, conducting ruthless mass layoffs, and easing content moderation by restoring former U.S. President Donald Trump’s account, which led to a mass exodus of advertisers and ongoing management turmoil at Twitter.

Starting at 6:20 p.m. the previous day, Musk conducted a 12-hour Twitter poll asking, "Should I step down as head of Twitter?" Over 57.5% of the approximately 17.5 million respondents voted in favor of Musk’s resignation. Musk has yet to issue an official statement regarding the poll results.

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