Elon Musk says he has chosen new Twitter CEO, will step down within weeks
Written by ABC AUDIO ALL RIGHTS RESERVED on May 11, 2023
(SAN FRANCISCO) — Elon Musk has chosen a new CEO of Twitter and plans to step down from the role within about six weeks, the billionaire entrepreneur said on Thursday.
Musk, who runs Tesla and Space X, did not disclose the identity of the incoming chief executive. He said he plans to transition to a role as executive chairman and chief technology officer, in which he’ll focus on “overseeing product.”
The announcement comes months after Musk pledged in December to step down as the head of Twitter as soon as he found someone “foolish enough to take the job.”
Musk’s tentative resignation late last year followed a Twitter poll posted by Musk in which 57.5% of respondents called on him to stop leading the company.
After acquiring Twitter in October, Musk made major changes to the company and its platform. In an effort to significantly slash costs, the company has cut roughly 75% of its 7,500-person workforce, raising concerns about Twitter’s capacity to maintain its platform.
Twitter suffered a user outage in February that lasted for hours and required an emergency fix, prompting an apology from the company.
Musk has also sought to rejuvenate the platform’s subscription offering as a means of supplementing its advertising revenue. Under Twitter’s new subscription, users gain access to account verification — the site’s signature blue checkmark — for an $8 monthly fee, which amounts to $96 per year.
Previously, Twitter verified celebrities, politicians, journalists and prominent figures on a case-by-case basis in an effort to authenticate their identities and prevent impersonation.
Twitter partially reversed the subscription change last month by reverifying some legacy accounts, including accounts affiliated with basketball star Lebron James and author Stephen King.
Musk has defended his actions at Twitter as part of an aggressive effort to rescue the company from financial peril, which he described in a Twitter Spaces interview in December as an “emergency fire drill.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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