(Washington) A majority of participants in a poll launched by Elon Musk on Twitter voted Monday for the entrepreneur to abandon the direction of the social network.
57.5% of the more than 17 million voters said they were in favor of a departure from Mr. Musk, who pledged to respect the result, but did not react immediately.
“Should I quit running Twitter? “, had asked the billionaire in the night from Sunday to Monday on the social network.
“I will stick to the results of this poll,” he promised.
In an exchange with one of his Twitter followers, Mr. Musk assured that he had no designated successor. He said in another post that the platform was “on the fast track to bankruptcy.”
Since the takeover at the end of October, the boss of Tesla and SpaceX has sparked many controversies by laying off half of Twitter’s workforce, reinstating suspended accounts, suspending those of journalists and seeking to launch a new paid subscription.
“From the botched subscription plan to the banning of journalists to daily political controversies, it’s been an all-out storm as advertisers fled, leaving Twitter to widen its deficit,” noted Wedbush analyst Dan Ives. Securities, which estimates the company’s potential losses at $4 billion a year.
According to investment adviser Gary Black, Mr Musk is also under pressure from Tesla’s board of directors to let go of the reins of Twitter and refocus on the automaker, whose stock has fallen more than 33% since the start. acquisition of the social network.
“The numbers are hard to ignore,” Mr. Black tweeted.
The poll launched by Mr. Musk came after a new decision by the social network that caused a lot of reaction.
Misunderstanding of the new rules
Twitter announced on Sunday that it would no longer be possible to post links to competing networks, such as Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon or Truth Social, Donald Trump’s social network.
It is now prohibited to tweet a message like: “Thank you for following me @ID on Instagram”, indicated the platform.
These new rules have aroused the misunderstanding of many users, including Jack Dorsey, the co-founder and former boss of Twitter.
After some accounts were suspended under the new rule, including that of investor Paul Graham, Mr. Musk qualified his decision.
He first tweeted that instead of targeting individual tweets, the policy would be limited to “suspending accounts only when the ‘primary’ purpose of that account is promoting competitors.”
The stormy billionaire then claimed that “major political changes” on the social network would systematically be subject to a vote.
Accounts suspended
Last week, Mr. Musk deleted and then restored the accounts of several American journalists from CNN, the New York Times and the Washington Post in particular, causing the European Union and the UN to react. The Vice-President of the European Commission even threatened the entrepreneur with sanctions.
The multi-billionaire first suspended @elonjet on Wednesday, an account that automatically reported his private jet trips, then those of journalists who had tweeted about the decision, accusing them of putting his family at risk.
These were reinstated on Saturday, but some said they were told to delete certain posts if they wanted to make full use of the platform.
On Saturday evening, the Twitter account of a Washington Post journalist, Taylor Lorenz, was in turn suspended for several hours.
“Elon Musk has suspended my Twitter account,” said the journalist, who covers the technology sector, on her blog.
His account was restored on Sunday.
Since taking over the reins of Twitter, Mr. Musk has reinstated numerous banned accounts, including Mr. Trump’s. It also ended the fight against misinformation related to COVID-19.
On the other hand, he suspended the account of rapper Kanye West after the publication of several messages deemed anti-Semitic and refused the return to the platform of far-right conspirator Alex Jones.
Twitter in the storm since its purchase by Elon Musk
Leak of advertisers, massive layoffs, cascading resignations, cacophony around new features: since its takeover at the end of October, the social network Twitter has been rocking in the heart of the Elon Musk storm.
“The bird is free”
On October 27, 2022, controversial billionaire Elon Musk announced the purchase of Twitter for $44 billion, after a saga lasting more than six months. “The bird is free,” he tweets, alluding to the network’s logo.
“Twitter is now in good hands,” greets former President Donald Trump, banned from the platform after the Capitol assault in early 2021.
On the contrary, associations fear that Elon Musk will open the floodgates to misinformation and hate speech.
The European Union warns on the 28th that Twitter will have to respect its new digital regulations, which oblige the major platforms to moderate their content.
Elon Musk tries to reassure by promising an upcoming “content moderation council”.
Advertisers procrastinate
The day after the takeover, General Motors temporarily stopped paying for ads on Twitter, becoming the first major advertiser to question its presence on the network, 90% of whose revenue comes from advertising.
Other companies follow, such as the American giants General Mills (Cheerios and Häagen-Dazs) and Mondelez international (Oreo cookies) or even Volkswagen and Audi.
Eight dollars to certify his account
1er November, Elon Musk announces the upcoming launch of an eight dollar per month subscription for users wishing to have their account certified as authentic and be less exposed to advertising.
Account certification was previously free and only accessible to certain profiles, such as governments, companies, the media, political, cultural or sports personalities, etc.
Wave of layoffs
On the 4th, Twitter begins a wave of layoffs, which affects around 50% of its 7,500 employees worldwide.
“Unfortunately there is no other choice when the company is losing more than four million dollars a day,” defends Elon Musk.
Cacophony around Twitter Blue
On the 9th, a great cacophony surrounds the launch on the iPhone of the new Twitter Blue, the paid subscription to have your account authenticated.
For 48 hours, many accounts pretend to be those of celebrities or companies. These impersonations prompt Twitter to suspend Twitter Blue on the 11th.
Warning from US authorities
On the 10th, the US Competition Agency (FTC) issued a rare warning, saying it was following recent developments at Twitter “with great concern”.
The FTC points out that Twitter risks substantial fines in the event of breaches of data security and privacy rules.
Ultimatum and cascading departures
On the 16th, the billionaire sends an ultimatum to his employees: they must commit to “working long hours at high intensity”, failing which they will be made redundant.
According to several American media, hundreds of them are choosing to leave.
Trump reinstated, Kanye suspended
After a subscriber survey, Elon Musk decided on the 19th to lift the suspension of Donald Trump’s Twitter account.
In the process, he announces the mass reinstatement of banned accounts – if they have not broken the law – as well as the end of the fight against disinformation on COVID-19.
On December 2, Twitter suspended the account of American rapper Kanye West for “incitement to violence”, revealing the limits of the absolute freedom of expression advocated by Elon Musk.
Paid subscription, continued
After several tests, the billionaire launched on the 12th a new paid subscription formula to Twitter, including account authentication.
Suspension of journalist accounts
Twitter suspended the accounts of several journalists covering the social network and its new owner on the 15th. Some of them had tweeted the day before Twitter’s decision to suspend the account that automatically reported the routes of Elon Musk’s private jet.
The EU immediately threatens the latter with “sanctions”. On the 17th, some of the suspended accounts are reinstated.
Majority vote for Musk’s departure
On the 19th, a majority of participants (57.5%) in a poll launched on Twitter by Musk himself voted for the entrepreneur to abandon the management of the social network.
The billionaire pledged to respect the result, but did not react immediately.