Mr Musk’s poll followed a banning spree where the Tesla owner abruptly suspended, then reinstated, the accounts of multiple journalists.
Twitter also blocked the account of rival social network, Mastodon, over claims it was being used to reveal the public coordinates of Mr Musk’s private jet, which Mr Musk has decided is against Twitter’s rules.
On Monday, the social network was forced into a partial u-turn over a policy to ban links to rival tech companies.
Twitter said on Sunday night it would block the promotion of Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon and Donald Trump-owned Truth Social.
Ordinary users were told they would be barred from posting links to accounts on other websites and risked bans for violating the rules. The decision prompted anger from creators who use multiple accounts across social media.
Mr Musk also blocked users from posting links to aggregation websites, which people use to publish lists of their social media accounts.
However, the blocking policy was deleted from Twitter’s website hours later and Mr Musk apologised, saying: “Going forward, there will be a vote for major policy changes. My apologies. Won’t happen again.”
During the Tesla owner’s erratic run at Twitter – which he bought for $44bn (£36bn) after a lengthy legal battle – thousands of staff have been sacked, features have broken and hundreds of previously banned accounts were reinstated.
The billionaire’s self-proclaimed efforts to beat the “woke mind virus” holding back the internet drew cheers from critics who believe Twitter champions left-wing causes.
But his decision to ban several critical journalists – suspensions that were later overturned – and change Twitter’s rules on whim has caused even Mr Musk’s most ardent supporters to question his leadership.
Jack Dorsey, Twitter’s former chief executive who still holds shares in the company after Mr Musk took it private, posted a critical blog about the billionaire’s remarks about the company’s staff.
Twitter blocked the account of Paul Graham, an influential Silicon Valley investor who had previously voiced support for Mr Musk, after he chose to promote an alternative social media website.
Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, said: “Time to end this nightmare as CEO of Twitter.
“This has been a black eye moment for Musk and been a major overhang on Tesla’s stock which continues to suffer in a brutal way since the Twitter soap opera began, with brand deterioration related to Musk a real issue.”
Mr Musk, who on Sunday night was photographed at the World Cup final in Qatar alongside former President Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, had said previously that he would eventually step back as chief executive.
