NY
CNN
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Elon Musk said Thursday that he has found a new CEO to take over Twitter, months after he first took over. fiance take a step back on paper.
The new CEO will take over at Twitter Inc., which recently changed its name to X Corp., in the coming weeks, Musk said. He did not provide a name. However, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources, that Linda Yaccarinohead of publicity for NBCUniversal, was in talks for the position.
“Excited to announce that I have a new CEO for X/Twitter. It will start in ~6 weeks!” Musk said in a cheep.
Musk, who has had a chaotic reign as “Chief Twit” since buying the company in October, said he will become Twitter’s chief executive and chief technology officer, overseeing product, software and systems operations.
In December, Musk led a survey on the platform asking users if he should step back as CEO of Twitter, which ended up with most users yes vote. Musk said he would comply with the survey results, but later backtracked, saying he would hand over the job “as soon as I find someone dumb enough to take the job!” In February, the reiterated that he planned to find a replacement by the end of the year.
Musk has faced criticism for a series of policy changes at Twitter, which often came without clear justification and raised concerns about the impact on Twitter users.
he has also been trying to convince advertisers to rejoin the platform, after many fled over concerns about hateful behavior on the platform, mass layoffs from Twitter or questions about the future of the company. At the same time, it has been trying to sell users a new paid subscription platform that includes the ability to pay for a blue checkmark, but it seems to have limited traction so far.
Musk, who runs or is involved in many other companies, including Tesla
(TSLA) — has also faced criticism from Tesla
(TSLA) Shareholders worried that Twitter will distract him.
Musk recently said that Twitter is now “trending to break even,” after previously saying it was at risk of bankruptcy. Now the company’s new CEO will be tasked with helping turn the struggling company around and helping Musk recoup some of the $44 billion spent on the platform acquisition.
Even as Musk prepares to step down as CEO, he will likely retain significant control over the company’s future direction. After taking over the company in October, Musk removed the C-Suite, dissolved the board, and became the platform’s CEO and sole director.