Elon Musk says he'll resign as Twitter CEO when he can find a replacement

SAN FRANCISCO -- Elon Musk said he will abide by the results of a Twitter poll that asked him to step down from the head of the social media platform, just as soon as he finds a replacement.

Musk tweeted Sunday, "Should I step down as the head of Twitter? I will abide by the results of this poll."

Please note: The above video is from a previous report

More than 17.5 million users cast their votes and 57.5% said he should.

"As the saying goes, be careful what you wish, as you might get it," he also tweeted Sunday, later adding: "Those who want power are the ones who least deserve it."

Musk then went silent for two days, until Tuesday night when he finally replied to his own poll, saying, "I will resign as CEO as soon as I find someone foolish enough to take the job! After that, I will just run the software & servers teams."

Just how serious Musk was about abandoning his leadership role wasn't immediately clear.

Musk has taken a number of unscientific polls on substantial issues facing the social media platform, including whether to reinstate journalists that he had suspended from Twitter, which was broadly criticized in and out of media circles.

The polls have only added to a growing sense of tumult on Twitter since Musk bought the company for $44 billion at the end of October, potentially leaving the future direction of the company in the hands of its users.

Since buying Twitter, Musk has presided over a dizzying series of changes that have unnerved advertisers and turned off users. He's laid off half of the workforce, axed contract content moderators and disbanded a council of trust and safety advisors. He has dropped enforcement of COVID-19 misinformation rules and called for criminal charges against Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease expert helping lead the country's COVID response.

The Associated Press and ABC News contributed to this report