EU parliament invites Musk to testify

Elon Musk pauses and looks down as he speaks during a press conference at SpaceX's Starbase facility near Boca Chica Village in South Texas on February 10, 2022. PHOTO/ AFP

What you need to know:

  • The parliament's speaker, Roberta Metsola, sent a letter to the multibillionaire with the invitation to appear. 
  • The parliament has no power to compel Musk to turn up, and his response was not immediately known.

The head of the European Parliament has invited Elon Musk to testify before the legislature, her spokesman said on Monday.

The parliament's speaker, Roberta Metsola, sent a letter to the multibillionaire with the invitation to appear. 

The parliament has no power to compel Musk to turn up, and his response was not immediately known.

Musk, the boss of electric car company Tesla, has sparked upheaval and controversy since taking over Twitter in October for $44 billion.

After sacking half of the company's staff, reinstating former US president Donald Trump's account, dropping a policy against Covid-19 misinformation, banning -- then reinstating -- some journalists, and briefly blocking references on Twitter to rival platforms, he has attracted scrutiny from policymakers in both the United States and Europe.

The European Commission has warned Musk that he risks EU "sanctions" over the threat to media freedom. 

On Monday, Musk held a Twitter poll asking whether he should stay on as CEO of the online company. A total of 57.5 percent of users said 'Yes' he should go. 

Twitter's share price has plunged by a third since he took over the platform. Advertisers have stepped back from Twitter over the turmoil.