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Elon Musk has said he will step down as CEO of Twitter as soon as he finds someone else “stupid enough to take the job”.
Still, Musk plans to retain control of the social media company’s software teams and servers, key areas that will allow him to control product decisions.
Musk tweeted his decision Tuesday night in response to an unscientific and unrepresentative poll he launched two days ago, which asked users if he should step down as head of the company. More than 10 million people, or 57.5 percent of respondents, voted that he should leave office.
Musk had previously said he would respect the results of the informal poll, which he launched after even some of his own allies criticized some of Twitter’s recent policies. The survey was one of a series of public blows to his image since he took the role. This month, he was booed by the crowd when he took the stage at comedian Dave Chappelle’s San Francisco show.
Six defining moments from Musk’s time as CEO of Twitter
The entrepreneur, who also runs Tesla and SpaceX, took control of the social media company in October in a $44 billion deal. Musk previously indicated that he did not intend to remain at the top of Twitter for the long term.
Musk didn’t directly respond to the poll’s results for more than a day after it closed, but he did react to several tweets that suggested the poll might have been infiltrated by bots or that it wasn’t a representative sample of what people wanted .
His tepid response in Tuesday night’s poll leaves the door open for him to hold onto the top spot for an undetermined period of time.
“Accurate assessment!” Musk responded to a tweet asking why “offering to take on this thankless job” would upset people.
Some Tesla investors had urged Musk to step aside from the social media company to focus his energies on the electric car company, which has been struggling on the stock market. Tesla shares fell more than 8 percent in trading on Tuesday.
Musk’s time at the helm of Twitter has been marked by upheaval and, occasionally, chaos. The billionaire fired thousands of employees, disbanded an outside group overseeing online security and reinstated major suspended accounts, including one belonging to former President Donald Trump.
No word from Musk on whether he will step down. He lost a poll he said he would accept.
Musk’s moves have been controversial with many Twitter users and advertisers, putting the company’s main source of revenue at risk. But others had applauded his free-speech agenda and urged him to stay on as chief executive.
Musk has used Twitter polls to make critical decisions several times since taking over the company, including whether he should reinstate Trump. It also asked users whether the company should offer “blanket amnesty” to suspended accounts, many of which later began to reappear on the site.
Musk launched another poll Tuesday night, this time asking users whether Congress should pass a $1.7 trillion deal to fund the government.
Cat Zakrzewski contributed to this report.