Elon Musk has gone silent since 10 million Twitter users voted for him to step down as CEO of the struggling social media company.
Mr Musk polled users late on Sunday, asking “Should I step down as head of Twitter?” after heavy criticism of his bizarre leadership style.
“I will abide by the results of this poll,” he added.
More than 17.5 million votes were cast in just 12 hours, with 57.5 per cent voting in favour of Mr Musk handing over the reins.
The billionaire CEO, usually an avid Tweeter, has posted just a handful of times since.
“As the saying goes, be careful what you wish, as you might get it,” he wrote shortly after sending the poll live.
And, cryptically: “Those who want power are the ones who least deserve it.”
He has neglected to address the damning poll more directly.
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Twitter has been in free fall since Mr Musk’s takeover in October, as he went to war with tech giant Apple and sent dramatic emails to what remained of the company’s staff.
Last week, the head of the Musk family office began cold calling the same investors who helped the billionaire to buy Twitter, pleading for more cash in what was seen by many as a desperate act.
“Everything has been done haphazardly and roughly,” one key investor said. “They’re doing it because they’re out of money. I don’t think [Mr Musk] expected such a big drop in revenue.”
The funds raised would go towards a “hiring spree” of programmers to build a “super app” to process payments, among other non-Twitter-typical services, the note to investors said.
Meanwhile, the social media company is bleeding cash and faces heavy interest payments on its debts.
Mr Musk bought Twitter after a dramatic and lengthy legal row, racking up about $US13 billion ($A19 billion) in debt and outside equity of about $US7 billion ($A10 billion) in the process – all as advertisers fled the platform, taking their revenue with them.
He seemingly tried to bar users from leaving as Tweeters were suspended for redirecting their followers to other social media accounts. A slew of journalists were also banned after writing about the movements of Mr Musk’s private jet.
Both policies were overturned after online polls demanded it – proving the former richest man in the world typically abides by his ad hoc voting system.
Some users claimed the poll was less off-the-cuff than it seemed, and Mr Musk already had a new CEO picked out.
The billionaire, however, claimed there was “no successor” as of yet.
“No one wants the job who can actually keep Twitter alive,” he said in response to the theory. “There is no successor.”
Mr Musk has previously said he would appoint a new Twitter CEO “over time”.
Taking the witness stand to defend himself in a lawsuit brought forward by Tesla shareholders – who accused him of rorting the company when the board awarded him a compensation package worth some $US55 billion ($A74.6 billion) – Mr Musk said: “I expect to reduce my time at Twitter and find somebody else to run Twitter over time.”
Perhaps the leadership change will come sooner than expected.