An eerie silence fell upon Elon Musk’s Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) account after users voted for him to step down as their chief twit on Monday, broken only by a few replies, retweets and links.
Musk’s last post prior to the outcome of the result was: “Those who want power are the ones who least deserve it.”
Bookmaker William Hill set the odds for Musk to sell Twitter next year at two to one, suggesting the world’s second richest man may want to “cut his losses” after a tough few months.
“Trying to guess Elon Musk’s next step isn’t an easy task, but after the way things have gone over the last few months, you’d have to think selling Twitter is something he’s considering,” added the firm.
Meanwhile, AJ Bell analyst Danni Hewson questioned whether Musk’s undivided attention towards Tesla might have prevented its share price from falling as far as 62% this year.
While we’ll never know, Hewson said that “the jury is out on that one”.
She suggested that even though the poll “seemed a rather bonkers way of doing business,” Musk may have been trying to “save face,” potentially having planned to quit the role all along.
It would allow him to “heap the responsibility” for his downfall - and whatever happens under his replacement - on Twitter users, she added.
Interesting
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 20, 2022
Having faced so much scrutiny from Tesla investors, Musk’s potential exit as Twitter chief executive may come as a relief if it frees him up to focus on the electric vehicle brand.
The work seems far from over though, with Musk having made it clear on Monday that a replacement for the top role at Twitter was yet to be found.
No one wants the job who can actually keep Twitter alive. There is no successor.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 19, 2022
While rumours of Jack Dorsey’s return have appeared, amid heaps of speculation, Musk is yet to confirm if he will actually step down.