In a major announcement on Thursday, Elon Musk, owner of Twitter, declared that he had appointed a new CEO for the social media giant. While he revealed the news on Twitter, Musk refrained from divulging the identity of the new executive. He also mentioned plans to step back from his day-to-day engagement with Twitter, intending to function as executive chair and chief technology officer, overseeing product modifications.
Although Musk did not disclose the incoming CEO’s identity, he did provide a clue that the individual is a woman, expected to assume the role in approximately six weeks.
The decision comes after prolonged apprehension among investors of Musk’s other ventures, like Tesla, who believed the tech mogul was overly preoccupied with Twitter, thereby neglecting his other business commitments.
Tesla’s stock surged nearly 2% in the immediate aftermath of Musk’s tweet.
Elon Musk’s controversial journey as Twitter CEO
Musk acquired Twitter in a contentious $44 billion deal in October, following months of negotiation with its previous management over the company’s valuation and health.
In the six months since the acquisition, Musk has implemented extensive changes, including substantial layoffs, reinstating suspended users such as ex-President Donald Trump, and liberalizing the rules around potentially contentious content.
Elon Musk also did away with Twitter’s account verification program for notable public figures. The blue-and-white checkmarks are now exclusively reserved for subscribers of its premium service.
The future direction of Twitter under the new CEO remains uncertain, but one thing is for sure: she will break new ground, as Twitter has never had a female CEO since its inception in 2006.
With Elon Musk reducing his involvement in Twitter, he is expected to dedicate more time to his other enterprises. He leads both Tesla, the automobile manufacturer, and SpaceX, the engineering and rocket firm that recently launched the largest rocket ever as part of its Mars colonization initiative.
Several tech investors have previously raised concerns about Musk’s extensive focus on a social media platform, given his other significant responsibilities.
Last month, Musk humorously reasserted his earlier vow during a spontaneous BBC interview, stating, “I did stand down. I keep telling you I’m not the CEO of Twitter, my dog is the CEO of Twitter.”
Despite using humor to deflect controversies since taking over Twitter, Tesla’s investors are growing increasingly worried that he’s dedicating an excessive amount of his time to revamping the social media platform.
Within his first month at Twitter, Elon Musk made decisive moves, promptly dismissing the then-CEO, Parag Agrawal, along with other high-ranking officials, followed by a significant reduction in workforce by half in November.
In a further shakeup this past April, Twitter began the process of removing its ‘blue ticks’, symbols of verification, from accounts, resulting in numerous globally renowned individuals losing their verification status.
Under the original ‘blue tick’ system, the platform hosted approximately 300,000 verified users, including a vast array of athletes, musicians, journalists, and other public figures.
