Is this for real or is he just saying this in jest?
Elon Musk's tweets are truly earth-shaking most of the time, yet are somewhat vague or are prone to multiple interpretations. In his latest tweet, taking it verbatim seems to show that the world's richest man is considering bailing out from his executive responsibilities at Tesla and SpaceX.
But is he really serious about it?
Musk Asks Followers If He Must Quit His Executive Roles
On Thursday, Musk tweeted that he is "thinking about quitting" from his roles at the companies he heads and "become an influencer full time". He added "wdyt," which means "what do you think," asking his 66 million Twitter followers their thoughts.
thinking of quitting my jobs & becoming an influencer full-time wdyt
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 10, 2021
Interestingly, a user suggested that Musk open an OnlyFans account, with the multibillionaire mogul replying, "Maybe I will..."
OnlyFans is a subscription-based online service wherein original content can be posted by users, including adult-content creators.
Obviously, however, Musk is seeking a life beyond his daily work routine of leading such companies as the automaker Tesla, aerospace company SpaceX, brain-chip startup Neuralink, and infrastructure firm The Boring Company.
In a conference call last January, Musk said he was looking at being the Tesla CEO for "several years." He added it would be ideal to "have a bit more free time" from his daily grind of "just working day and night" from the time he wakes up to when he goes to sleep at seven days a week. "Pretty intense," he said.
In November, Musk also asked his Twitter followers whether he should sell ten percent of his Tesla stake. A majority of the respondents in his Twitter survey voted in agreement. He had since sold his Tesla shares worth about $12 billion.
Musk Tweets Violate Court-Ordered Policy?
Musk's tweets could have violated a court-ordered policy that company lawyers should pre-approve his tweets from a 2018 settlement wherein Tesla and Musk had to cough out $20 million in fines over a tweet the CEO posted about the automaker being possibly bought out, The Wall Street Journal reported. That led to his being forced to step down from the company as chairman.
The report showed that Musk violated that policy in 2019 and 2020, based on court records the publication obtained through the U.S. Freedom of Information Act. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said that the violations covered Musk's tweets discussing the stock price of the Tesla and solar roof production that were allegedly not pre-approved by company lawyers, the report said.
Moses & Singer law partner Howard Fischer, however, said that Musk's latest tweets have not violated any rules arising from the 2018 settlement since they were too vague, a Reuters report said. He said that compared to other executives, Musk's Twitter comments are "subject to a substantial discount, as it were, by the market..."
