Elon Musk restores Donald Trump’s Twitter account after holding online poll to decide whether to back him for president
Twitter suspended Elon Musk’s account following an online poll in which Twitter users voted to support or oppose his bid for the US president’s former job.
The tech billionaire’s account was temporarily restored Wednesday, hours after his supporters launched a campaign against his removal from the company’s home page.
ADVERTISEMENT
Musk’s poll, which asked “Do you think Elon Musk is the right person to be President of the United States?” was the result of a Twitter thread in which he asked his followers: “Why do we need a president?” before making his case for why he’s qualified to serve.
The thread, which lasted for four hours and 19 minutes, was seen by 979,000 people.
Musk is best known for pushing the Tesla Semi truck and has been the subject of controversy over claims that he lied to the public about the severity of an Autopilot system that was still in testing after its introduction. His account has also been accused of failing to disclose material information regarding his business dealings, including his ownership of the Los Angeles Times.
The Twitter suspension, which was reported by The Verge, followed the company’s move to end the thread.
Musk’s campaign, which had about 3,000 supporters, said he will use his “influence to keep fighting for a government that works for everyone.”
The tweet has been the subject of a lot of criticism on Twitter, with some people calling for it to be blocked to preserve free speech.
ADVERTISEMENT
But in a direct message to his followers, he said “I’m done with my campaign.”
He said, “We all have the right to say the things that we want to say, and that we want to have a say in the government we want to have.”
He concluded his message by saying: “I didn’t ask for this.”
Musk’s efforts to win over supporters came as President Donald Trump’s approval numbers continue to erode.
ADVERTISEMENT
In July, the company’s stock hit an all-time low, but then it rallied to hit a new all-time high in October
