Musk, Twitter CEO Wade Straight Into Old Debate Over Edit Button

(Bloomberg) -- Elon Musk didn’t take long to start stirring things up for Twitter Inc. -- and its new CEO.

Most Read from Bloomberg

• Canada to Ban Foreigners From Buying Homes as Prices Soar

• Mocked as ‘Rubble’ by Biden, Russia’s Ruble Roars Back

• If Stocks Don’t Fall, the Fed Needs to Force Them

• Putin Army Regroups for Ukraine Showdown After Invasion Setback

• Russia Sidesteps Sanctions to Supply Energy to Willing World

Less than 24 hours after revealing he’s acquired a 9.2% passive stake in the company, the Tesla Inc. chief asked Twitter users whether they wanted an edit button, offering misspelled “yes” and “no” options in his usual eccentric style. The billionaire has posted recently about what he views as shortcomings of the service, where he has more than 80 million followers and has filled the void left by Donald Trump as one of the most influential accounts.

Twitter Chief Executive Officer Parag Agrawal, who succeeded Jack Dorsey as CEO in November, quickly quote-tweeted the poll and recited words Musk had used earlier about Twitter’s adherence to free speech principles: “The consequences of this poll will be important. Please vote carefully.” The Twitter CEO may have been mocking Musk’s query, though the action shows he’s keeping a close eye on the account of the Tesla and SpaceX chief.

Elon Musk’s ‘Passive’ Stake in Twitter Belies His Big Influence

Twitter’s official account posted a message on April 1 saying “we are working on an edit button,” which may have been intended as an April Fool’s joke; however it collected more than 1.3 million likes, suggesting the demand for such a facility is high.

The option to edit posts after publishing has been a longstanding request of Twitter users frustrated with the inability to fix typos on published posts or correct misstatements on viral tweets. Musk’s poll had nearly 2.3 million votes late on Monday, split 74% for “yse” and 26% for “on.”

(Updates with latest poll figures)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

• The Bridgewater CEO Who Went Full MAGA

• China’s $2.3 Trillion Infrastructure Plan Puts America’s to Shame

• This Is the Red-Hot Center of the Tightest Job Market Since WWII

• Apple Makes It Easy to Work Remotely (Unless You Work for Apple)

• Suddenly Short of Workers, U.S. Is Forced to Rethink Job Credentials

©2022 Bloomberg L.P.