On Tuesday, Elon Musk claimed he would step down as Twitter C.E.O. This comes only two days after he asked his 122 million followers on the app if he should resign. Most of them said yes. However, Musk said he’ll leave only after he finds a suitable replacement who is “foolish enough to take the job.” He added: “After that, I will just run the software & servers teams.”
The survey received around 17.5 million votes—with more than half urging Musk to step down. Despite the intense booing from thousands of people at a recent surprise appearance during a Dave Chapelle show, the SpaceX founder is seemingly in denial about how unpopular he is.
Instead of addressing the results, he questioned them and said that only those who pay for Twitter’s subscription service should be allowed to vote in polls.
Musk became the official owner of Twitter in late October, purchasing the app for an astounding $44 billion. Since his acquisition of the platform, hate speech has increased and Musk has been criticized for his so-called leadership skills.
Many have opined that Musk has not only driven Twitter into the ground, but also that its final days are looming. Last week, he sold $3.6 billion of Tesla shares and apparently is looking for new Twitter investors. Musk has also devoted himself to slashing Twitter costs—which came in the form of getting rid of staff. Before he took over, Twitter had around 7,500 employees. During Musk’s tenure, nearly 70 percent of those who worked for the company left through firings, layoffs and resignations. He has also been accused of humiliating his Black employees.
We at The Root have a few suggestions for how both Musk and Twitter can redeem themselves by allowing a few Black people to take over for the controversial figure. We’ll be watching to see what happens next.