Elon Musk is evaluating his next actions in response to a Twitter poll asking if he should step down as CEO.
More than 17 million people voted, with 57% saying yes, raising the obvious question: if not Mr Musk, who?
The billionaire, who has led the social media network since October, said he will follow the poll’s results.
However, he has made no comments about his intention to leave his position.
“No one wants the job who can actually keep Twitter alive,” he tweeted following the poll.
TECHnalysis Research’s Bob O’Donnell warned that predicting who will take over the social platform was a “pointless exercise because of how unpredictable and short-lived every move” about Twitter has been in Musk’s reign.
Nonetheless, we look at who might be in the running.
Mr Musk’s poll was published just hours after he was photographed at Qatar’s Lusail Stadium, where he witnessed Argentina defeat France on penalties to win the men’s football World Cup.
He was there with Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law and former US presidential adviser.
The photos of the men went viral on Twitter, with viewers doubting their relationship. Could he be Mr Musk’s latest hire?
Mr Musk’s close ally is Sriram Krishnan, an Indian technocrat who was tasked by the entrepreneur with monetising the platform.
He is one of Mr Musk’s main team members at Twitter.
Mr Krishnan, a former Twitter, Meta, and Microsoft employee, is also an investor, technologist, and engineer who co-hosts a podcast and YouTube channel with his wife.
“I invest and am interested in the intersection of consumer tech and crypto,” he says on his website.
He mentions pro wrestling as one of his interests and believes in the “importance of making a dramatic entrance,” which may resonate with Mr Musk.
David Sacks, a technology investor and podcaster, is another seasoned member of Mr Musk’s inner circle.
Mr Sacks co-founded PayPal with Mr Musk and is a member of the so-called “PayPal Mafia,” a group of former company executives who have become billionaires by creating some of Silicon Valley’s most successful computer companies.
Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey has stepped in twice to run it, so might it be third time lucky?
Nobody, arguably, knows the platform better than Mr. Dorsey, who left as CEO in November 2021.
He was the CEO of both Twitter and payment startup Square, and he was under pressure from investors who believed Twitter was not getting enough attention while he was also heading Square.
Mr Dorsey not only left Twitter, but he also resigned from his board seat, meaning he has had no known interaction with Mr Musk aside from initially supporting his purchase.
Ms Friar was previously the finance director at Square, Mr Dorsey’s payments startup. She is presently the CEO of Nextdoor, a social networking site centered on local neighborhoods.
She has been described as one of the “most highly regarded” executives in Silicon Valley with an “exceptionally rare mix of proven business skills, and authentic heart and soul”.
Mr Marcus, another member of the “PayPal Mafia,” is the former president of PayPal and is close to Mr Musk. He was among the first IT leaders to adopt
He was previously a key executive at Facebook’s parent company Meta, where he oversaw the company’s cryptocurrency projects Diem and Messenger. He was also a member of the Coinbase board of directors, a bitcoin exchange platform.
He now manages the cryptocurrency-focused Lightspark, which is seeking to “expand the potential” of bitcoin.
If Mr Musk’s future ideas for profiting from Twitter include incorporating cryptocurrencies into existing products and services, Mr Marcus may be a strong contender.
Sheryl Sandberg, the chief operating officer of Meta and Mark Zuckerberg’s right hand lady, quit in June to focus on her charity activities.
She was widely credited with fundamentally altering Facebook’s revenue strategy, positioning the site to earn from small business advertising and steering it through its rapid rise.
Could the top job at Twitter tempt her back into one of the biggest roles in Silicon Valley?
When Mr Musk completed his takeover of Twitter, he immediately sacked the former boss Parag Agrawal, co-founder Mr Dorsey’s handpicked successor.
His sacking marked the beginning of the chaotic Musk era – so might Mr Musk want some stability and bring him back?
One of the only people to throw their hat into the ring, albeit jokingly, is Edward Snowden, the National Security Agency whistleblower.
Mr Snowden has been living in exile in Russia since he leaked details of extensive internet and phone surveillance by US intelligence agencies.
But given his espionage charges in the US, it would seem running Twitter would be rather difficult from Moscow.
