Elon Musk launches Twitter poll to decide if he should step down as CEO and says he’ll abide by results

Poll attracts over 16 million voters, with less than an hour to go before it closes

Elon Musk has started an online poll asking users if he should step down as the CEO of Twitter.

On Sunday night, Mr Musk tweeted the 12-hour poll: “Should I step down as head of Twitter? I will abide by the results of this poll.”

Along with the question, he gave “Yes” and “No” options.

With less than an hour to go, for the poll to close, over 16 million people have voted.

In a separate tweet, Mr Musk wrote there is no successor in line if he steps down.

“The question is not finding a CEO, the question is finding a CEO who can keep Twitter alive,” he wrote.

“No one wants the job who can actually keep Twitter alive. There is no successor.”

“As the saying goes, be careful what you wish, as you might get it.”

Hours after the poll, he tweeted again: “Those who want power are the ones who least deserve it.”

Mr Musk’s comments come after he reversed a Twitter policy on Sunday that barred users from linking to certain rival social media websites, including Facebook, Instagram and Mastodon.

He said in a tweet that the policy would be “adjusted” to only suspending accounts “when that account’s *primary* purpose is promotion of competitors”.

He added that there will also be a “vote” before significant policy changes on the social media platform.

“Going forward, there will be a vote for major policy changes. My apologies. Won’t happen again,” he said.

On Saturday, Mr Musk also announced he would restore the accounts of several journalists suspended from the platform whom he had accused of sharing private information of his whereabouts.

The accounts included those of reporters with The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN and other publications.

They were suspended after Twitter banned the account “ElonJet”, that tracked the Tesla and SpaceX chief’s private jets using publicly available data.

“The people have spoken. Accounts who doxxed my location will have their suspension lifted now,” he said in a tweet after a majority of people on the platform responding to his survey voted to have the journalists’ accounts reinstated.

Mr Musk bought the social media platform in October for $44bn.