The day after Twitter CEO posted a tweet asking users to vote on whether her should step down, he’s now facing a problem.
The poll results came in very much in favor of his stepping down — 57.5 percent to 42.5. This is, of course, an opt-in poll, which makes it completely unscientific as a measure of what Twitter users actually think or want, but Musk had vowed to abide by its results.
Should I step down as head of Twitter? I will abide by the results of this poll.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 18, 2022
About 20 minutes later he warned Twitter users: “[B]e careful what you wish, as you might get it.”
As the saying goes, be careful what you wish, as you might get it
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 18, 2022
Of course there were the usual suspects who claimed they knew what was going on behind the scenes, but I’m not sure anyone expected the situation to develop like this:
No one wants the job who can actually keep Twitter alive. There is no successor.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 19, 2022
The responses to that tweet, in turn, have been both positive and negative, with many either putting themselves forward as the new CEO — usually with tongue firmly placed in cheek — or offering the names of others who could potentially step in, of which, my personal favorite was this:
When you think “No one wants the job who can actually keep Twitter alive.” There comes an unsung hero from the mist. pic.twitter.com/FzDGcynX2r
— Pale_Rider (@EricksonJuell) December 19, 2022
Some simply questioned why Musk would create such a poll and promised to abide by its results if he wasn’t able to do so in the first place.
Then why would you have this poll? Especially given all that you paid for it and sold tesla shares for it.
— Tesla Owners Silicon Valley (@teslaownersSV) December 19, 2022
Others offered alternative scenarios if Musk did step down and no successor were named.
Does this mean you would likely shut down the site and liquidate the company if Yes wins the referendum? ?
— Ben Ritz (@BudgetBen) December 19, 2022
Let federal bankruptcy court figure it out.
— Andrew C Laufer, Esq (@lauferlaw) December 19, 2022
How about we let an AI control the twitter which works on the basis of polls by people! Anyone can pull up a poll and the AI will take the polls into consideration which pass a certain threshold of audience over it! The distribution of the polls and effectiveness can be weighted!
— Varun Gupta (@imVarunGupta07) December 19, 2022
And finally, a number of users who — mostly because this happened on Twitter, I think — either thought Musk was planning to bring former President Donald Trump in to take over the reins (which seems highly unlikely, given the existence of competitor Truth Social) or compared Musk to Trump in a manner that was, shall we say, less favorable.
What if Trump’s the guy lined up to take over for Elon? You’d be able to open a window and hear the liberal screams.
— Full Spectrum ? (@LookMeanBeKind) December 19, 2022
Where have I heard this before? Hmmm I have no idea. ? pic.twitter.com/CcMsjMVoTg
— THEE Disco Witch ?️??️⚧️??? (@gothicdisco) December 19, 2022
But one user probably put it best:
best of luck finding a successor I would not wish that job on anyone.
— Ben M Cowles (@BenMCowles1) December 19, 2022
So, what is Musk actually planning for the future of Twitter? Anyone besides Musk who claims to have the answer to that question should probably not be taken at face value. I’m not convinced that Musk himself knows yet.
Ask me after the first of the year, and I’ll have an answer for you. Maybe.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.