Millions of Twitter users asked Elon Musk to step down as head of Twitter in a poll the billionaire created and promised to abide by. When the poll closed on Monday, however, it still wasn’t clear if there would be a new leader for the social media platform, which has grown more chaotic and confusing under Musk’s leadership with rapidly vacillating policies that are issued, then withdrawn or changed. Among those in the “go” camp were almost certainly Tesla investors who have grown tired of the 24/7 Twitter chaos which they say has distracted the eccentric CEO from the electric car company, his main source of wealth.
Musk also used his shares in the company to partially fund the acquisition of Twitter. Shares of Tesla are down 35 per cent since Musk took over Twitter on October 27, costing investors billions. Tesla’s market value was over $1.1 trillion USD on April 1, the last trading day before Musk disclosed he was buying up Twitter shares. The company has since lost 58 per cent of its value, at a time when rival automakers are cutting in on Tesla’s dominant share of electric vehicle sales. Shares were up 3 per cent before the market opened on Monday, with the poll suggesting there was a growing chance of Musk’s exit from Twitter. But they hit a new two-year low of $145.82 ($229 NZD) in the morning with no word from Musk, recovering to a 1.7 per cent gain early in the afternoon.
