As soon as he finds someone "foolish enough" to take over as CEO of Twitter, billionaire Elon Musk says he will step down.
Musk confirmed in a tweet on Tuesday that he is looking for a replacement, but he did not provide a timetable for the process.
Musk's tweet comes two days after he sent off a survey on the informal community, in which most respondents decided in favor of his ouster.
Even if Musk hires a new Twitter CEO, he will still be the company's owner and the ultimate decision-maker.
In a tweet, Musk said that he would "just run the software & servers teams". Last month, he also told Twitter employees that under his ownership, the company would become "a software and servers company"
After Musk got quick blowback for suspending the Twitter records of a few columnists, the very rich person took to his foundation Sunday to suggest a conversation starter: "Should I resign as Twitter's chief executive"? I will adhere to this poll's findings.
The unscientific poll had 17 million participants, and nearly 58% of those votes were in favor of Musk stepping down as CEO.
After launching the poll, Musk tweeted, "Be careful what you wish for, because you might get it".
Musk's tweet on Tuesday comes amid renewed scrutiny of his ability to lead the social media company, despite the fact that Musk has previously stated that it was never his intention to remain CEO of Twitter for the foreseeable future.
At Twitter, there has been a constant barrage of erratic decisions and turmoil since Musk took over at the end of October. Musk has ruled Twitter based on what appear to be his ever-changing whims, with few checks on his decisions, from firing more than half of the staff to reactivating the account of former President Trump. Since Musk took over, nearly all of Twitter's top executives have left or been fired.
In the midst of the confusion, significant publicists have escaped the stage, while Musk has over and again recommended Twitter could be nearly liquidation. That is doubted by the site's longtime analysts, who believe Musk may be using the possibility of bankruptcy as a cover for his cost-cutting measures.
Some Tesla investors were concerned that Musk was too distracted to lead both companies due to Twitter's confusion and chaos. Musk's electric car company is responsible for the majority of his wealth, but Twitter has been taking up most of his time. This year, Tesla shares have dropped 56%, and some investors have said that Musk needs to stop trying to run both businesses at the same time.
Ross Gerber, an investor in Tesla, advised the company's board of directors to "wake up" last week.
In the tweet, Gerber added: When will Elon return, and who is in charge of Tesla?
Gerber had always supported Musk. He stated to NPR in November that despite his belief that Musk had committed numerous errors since acquiring Twitter, he maintained his support for the billionaire.
Gerber once stated, "I'm never betting against this guy"
A brief policy shift leads to broad outcry
On Sunday, Twitter announced a new policy that surprised many users: It said tweets including connections to other online entertainment destinations would never again be permitted, referring to such posts as "free advancement". Although the policy was quickly changed, it upset some of Musk's most ardent supporters.
Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter and a supporter of Musk's acquisition of the platform, tweeted that the policy "doesn't make sense". The decision seemed to frustrate others who had supported Musk's attempt to acquire Twitter
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