Elon Musk he’s doing his thing inside again Chirping. This Monday, the CEO of the social network launched a survey on whether or not to abandon the address of the social networkwhich he took control of a few weeks ago, amid a fresh barrage of criticism over how he controls the platform with more than 200 million users.

Of the more than 17 million accounts that responded to the survey, 57.5% were in favor of leaving Musk, who asked in a tweet on Sunday: “Should I step down as head of Twitter?” and assured that he would respect the result.

Musk, who also heads automaker Tesla and aerospace firm SpaceX, didn’t react immediately.

The South African-born entrepreneur took the reins of Twitter himself last October 27 after a controversial purchase agreement for the social network for 44,000 million dollars.

Since then, several controversies have arisen with the dismissal of half of Twitter’s staff, the reintegration of far-right figures on the platform, the suspension of journalists and the attempt to charge for services that were previously free.

Analysts also noted that Tesla’s stock price has dropped by a third since Musk acquired Twitter.

“It’s hard to ignore the numbers since the deal closed [de Twitter]Investment expert Gary Black tweeted, saying he believed Tesla’s board was pressuring Musk to step down from his Twitter role.

In exchanges with users after posting his latest survey, Musk said so he had no successor in mind and renewed his warnings that the platform could be on the road to bankruptcy.

Twitter limits links to other social networks

On the other hand, on Sunday, Twitter announced that the platform users They could not include links to other social networks in their publications.

According to new policy Set Sunday afternoon, links to content on Facebook and Instagram would be banned, as would links to content on emerging Twitter alternatives, including Mastodon and Post.

The standard also covers social truththe Twitter clone backed by former President Donald Trump.

Twitter’s move signals a shift to a more closed environment, one that still accepts inbound traffic from other sites, but makes it harder for users to leave Twitter’s website for other destinations.

However, Elon Musk backtracked hours later and ensured that his intention was to “suspend accounts only when the ‘main’ goal of those accounts is the promotion of competitors.”

The attempt to limit the sharing of links to other social networks has drawn complaints and disapproval, and has even puzzled the co-founder of Twitter. Jack Dorseywho had supported the Musk takeover.

Dorsey questioned the new policy with a terse tweet: “Why?”

Analyst Dan Ives of consultancy Wedbush called Musk’s tenure a “perfect storm”. He highlighted the massive defection of advertisers, which he said left Twitter “in the red”.

Shortly after taking over the platform, Musk announced that the site would charge $8 a month to verify the identities of account holders. But he had to put the controversial “Twitter Blue” plan on hold after an embarrassing spate of fake accounts.

On Nov. 4, when Musk said it the company lost $4 million a dayTwitter has laid off half of its 7,500 employees.

Even the moss restored Donald Trump’s accountthough the former US president has indicated he has no interest in the platform and said Twitter will no longer make an effort to fight misinformation about covid-19.

In the latest controversy, Musk on Wednesday suspended the @elonjet account, which automatically reported the movements of the tycoon’s private jet, assuring it could endanger his family.

After temporarily suspended the testimonies of various journalists who have dealt with the subject.

Employees of CNN, the New York Times and the Washington Post were among those affected by a move that drew strong criticism, including from the European Union and the United Nations.

The Twitter account of journalist Taylor Lorenz, who covers the technology sector for the Washington Post, was also suspended for several hours over the weekend. It was reinstated on Sunday, but the @elonjet account was still suspended on Monday.

With information from agencies.

SL