Investors also blocked the re-election of a Musk ally to the board, voting against Egon Durban, the co-head of private equity firm Silver Lake, who partnered with Tesla CEO Musk on his abandoned bid to take the electric carmaker private.
Experts say Musk cannot unilaterally place the deal on hold. If Musks walks away, he could be on the hook for a $1bn breakup fee. Alternatively, Twitter could sue Musk to force him to proceed with the deal, although experts think that is highly unlikely.
Even if shareholders approve any of the proposals, it will be non-binding, said Donna Hitscherich, a professor of finance at Columbia Business School.
Shares of Twitter were up $1.09, or 3%, at $36.83 in early afternoon trading on Wednesday.
