Elon Musk's poll reveals that he is out of place with Twitter, a fact perhaps he is well aware of

After all the chaos that turned its ugly or rather weird heads at Twitter, it was time again for the quintessential Elon Musk's Twitter poll. He asked the Twitter users if he should be stepping down as Twitter CEO. This particular poll was initiated after he announced his decision to ban accounts promoting accounts on other social media platforms. A Twitter support tweet read, "We recognize that many of our users are active on other platforms. However, we will no longer allow free promotion of certain social media platforms on Twitter". The change in policy invited downright criticism not only from traditional naysayers but also from those who supported him as Twitter CEO. Elon decided he wouldn't move ahead with any major policy decision unless he takes this poll. Not surprisingly, around 57.5% of 17.5 million Twitter users voted for it. He bought Twitter for $44 bn and has been in the middle of a hailstorm of criticism ever since its takeover, majorly for blocking accounts. What is also not surprising is the fact that Tesla investors were among those who voted him out.

Shares of Tesla are down 35 % since Musk took over Twitter, and lost around 58% of its value in the electric vehicle segment, with rivals overtaking Tesla in revenue growth and market share. "This has been a black eye moment for Musk and been a major overhang on Tesla's stock, which continues to suffer in a brutal way since the Twitter soap opera began," Dan Ives, a finance analyst opined. On Nov 16th, appearing for a shareholders' case in Delaware's Court of Chancery, he was questioned by the court, on how he divides his time between Tesla and other companies. In an interesting turn, Musk said, he never wanted to be the CEO of any company, but prefer to work as an engineer. He said he would reduce his time at Twitter and look for a new leader for Twitter. However, replying to one of the Twitter user's comment on a possible change in CEO, he said, "There is no successor". That implies even if he happens to resign as its CEO, he will remain its owner. "Vox Populi, Vox Dei"—a quote Elon uses quite often – that translates to "the voice of the people is the voice of God" turned out true at least in this case.  Therefore, only blue tick verified accounts can henceforth participate in polling, which justifies his promise of abiding by the poll result!! Or does it have more to it?

Looking at it from another POV, like an anonymous ex-Twitter employee said to BBC, he is probably making it look like the users' decision to leave rather than that of his investors. "I imagine he's getting pressure from investors to step down and is using this poll to make it look like he's following the will of the people instead of the will of those paying his bills", quoted BBC. On another note, Tesla shares rose 5.3% after a Twitter poll asking Musk to step down as Twitter CEO. The shares took a dip of 58% since Musk announced the Twitter acquisition, underperforming by 15% in the S&P Index. Perhaps it's time to choose between Tesla and Twitter. But, if his actions are analyzed a bit deeper, they look like real-life 'Temporal Pincer'. For eg., he announced a sale of his Tesla holdings long before he had put the decision for a vote. His plans to reinstate, as per reports, was on cards even before he bought Twitter. Does that mean he was planning for Twitter's affirmative "yes"?