'Vox Populi, Vox Dei': How Elon Musk Has Used Polling by Tweet to Justify Decisions
© FREDERIC J. BROWN
Subscribe
Eccentric billionaire Elon Musk has made straw polls "a thing," frequently appearing to leave many various decisions at the mercy of members of the so-called “Twitterati.”
In response to Elon Musk’s Twitter poll on whether he should resign as the company's CEO, 57.5% were in favor of him stepping down, while 42.5% were against. Overall, 17,379,819 votes were cast.
Twitter screenshot of Elon Musk account.
© Photo : Twitter
Twitter CEO Elon Musk posted an informal poll on December 18, asking users if he should step down as head of the company, which he purchased for $44 billion in late October. He claimed he would abide by the results of the poll, which was due to close early Monday morning. In another tweet, he Musk quipped, "As the saying goes, be careful what you wish, as you might get it."
Before posting the poll, Musk also tweeted that, from now on, "there will be a vote for major policy changes" on the social media platform.
Twitter screenshot of Elon Musk account.
© Photo : Twitter
Ever since Elon Musk finalized the acquisition of Twitter, pledging to deal with censorship and automated bots on the website, the tech guru has proceeded with a cascade of changes to the company's day-to-day operations. Among them were sweeping staff layoffs, new policies, such as offering users an $8 monthly blue-check subscription, plans for a special council "with widely diverse viewpoints" to moderate the platform, and, more recently, banning users from linking to their accounts on other platforms.
Needless to say, this rollercoaster of change has not gone over well with everyone. Furthermore, many have been irked by how Musk has been increasingly using Twitter polls to ostensibly justify his decisions. Here is a look at how the multitasker extraordinaire has wielded straw polls in recent times.
Tesla Stock Offload
Elon Musk sold $5bn in Tesla stock - around 3% of his holding - in November 2021, just days after a Twitter poll in which he asked users about reducing his stake in the electric vehicle manufacturer. He asked users to vote “Yes” or “No,” promising to abide by the results of the poll. After 3,519,252 people responded to the poll, 57.9% of them had voted “Yes.”
Twitter screenshot of Elon Musk account.
© Photo : Twitter
In February 2004, after making a $6.5 million investment, Elon Musk became the largest shareholder of the company, whose CEO he has been since 2008. In 2021 Musk, floated the notion of selling a hefty chunk of his shares as he faced a looming tax bill that year.
'Important Consequences'
On March 25, 2022, after a user named “TJ” texted Elon Musk with a request to “buy Twitter and then delete it,” the SpaceX CEO asked his followers to vote on the following question:
“Free speech is essential to a functioning democracy. Do you believe Twitter rigorously adheres to this principle?”
Musk warned social media users to “please vote carefully,” stating that “the consequences of this poll will be important.”
Twitter screenshot of Elon Musk account.
© Photo : Twitter
At the time, “No” gathered a tally of 70 percent, and, incidentally, just one month later, Elon Musk made his initial offer to purchase Twitter.
'General Amnesty'
Another Twitter poll triggered by Elon Musk in November pertained to offering a "general amnesty to suspended accounts," provided they have not “broken the law or engaged in egregious spam.” At the time, Musk did not specify which laws he meant. Over 3.1 million votes were recorded by the poll, with 72% in favor of an amnesty. At the time, suspended accounts included Donald Trump’s former advisor Steve Bannon and right-wing UK commentator Katie Hopkins.
Twitter screenshot of Elon Musk account.
© Photo : Twitter
Vox Populi, Vox Dei
Over 15 million Twitter users participated in a 24-hour poll launched by Elon Musk mid-November on whether to reinstate the banned account of former US President Donald Trump on the platform.
Trump had been banned from Twitter since January 8, 2021, two days after some of his supporters stormed the US Capitol as Congress met to formally certify Joe Biden's win in the 2020 presidential election.
Trump had been banned from Twitter since January 8, 2021, two days after some of his supporters stormed the US Capitol as Congress met to formally certify Joe Biden's win in the 2020 presidential election.
At the time, Twitter said the suspension was indefinite.
With 51.8% having expressed support for Trump’s reinstatement, while 48.2% voted against it, the billionaire entrepreneur announced on November 19:
"The people have spoken. Trump will be reinstated. Vox Populi, Vox Dei."
Moments later, Trump's Twitter account, along with its more than 57,000 tweets, was restored. However, Trump said he didn't see any reason to return to Twitter, vowing to stick with his new platform, Truth Social, an app developed by his Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG) startup, which he said was doing "phenomenally well."
19 November 2022, 04:01 GMT
Vine Revival Poll
In October, Elon Musk posted a yes/no poll to ask users if the social video app Twitter axed in 2016 – Vine – should be revived. The question drew millions of votes, with most in favor.
Twitter screenshot of Elon Musk account.
© Photo : Twitter
Twitter purchased the short form video platform in 2013, with hyper-short videos of up to six seconds, but it was never transformed into a TikTok rival, and was scrapped by then-CEO Jack Dorsey.
4 December 2022, 04:25 GMT
Twitter’s new owner launched a poll on the social media platform in early December asking users whether WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden should be pardoned.
"I am not expressing an opinion, but did promise to conduct this poll," Musk tweeted, asking "Should Assange and Snowden be pardoned?"
"I am not expressing an opinion, but did promise to conduct this poll," Musk tweeted, asking "Should Assange and Snowden be pardoned?"
Twitter screenshot of Elon Musk account.
© Photo : Twitter
Suspended Journos
The South African-born billionaire asked on December 15 if the "accounts who doxxed my exact location in real-time" should be unsuspended from Twitter. Musk was referring to a number of journalists that were kicked off the micro-blogging site on Thursday for violating Twitter rules.
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO indicated that the accounts of the journalists, many of whom had been covering stories targeting Elon Musk and his newly-acquired social media platform, had violated Twitter's doxxing policy. On December 14, the world's wealthiest man suspended an account that purportedly actively tracked his private jet, adding that several of the journalists' accounts had allegedly tweeted links to the tracker.
Tweeting that the "same doxxing rules apply to 'journalists' as to everyone else," Musk pointed out that "accounts engaged in doxxing receive a temporary 7 day suspension."
However, after wielding yet another Twitter poll, with more than 3.6 million votes, Elon Musk brought back some of the suspended journalists.
Twitter screenshot of Elon Musk account.
© Photo : Twitter
A majority of voters (58.7%) wanted the accounts brought back "now," with Elon Musk tweeting that "the people have spoken."
Twitter screenshot of Elon Musk's account.
© Photo : Twitter
16 December 2022, 18:24 GMT
