Elon Musk announced that he will step down as the chief executive officer at Twitter and will now become the company's executive chair and chief technology officer. This was followed by a poll where he asked his followers if he should step down, with 57.5% saying yes.
(Photo : Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
KNUTSFORD, UNITED KINGDOM APRIL 21: In this photo illustration the Twitter account of Elon Musk is seen on a mobile cellphone on April 21, 2023 in Knutsford, United Kingdom. The social media company started removing large numbers of the blue verification check marks, or "blue ticks," that had historically indicated a verified account.
Stepping Down as Twitter CEO
After acquiring Twitter for $44 billion last October, Elon Musk gained the highest position on the platform after dissolving the company board and firing many veteran executives, including former CEO Parag Agrawal. But since this announcement, he clarified that his sole director status is just temporary until he finds a new replacement.
Musk has now announced that he will step down from the position as he finds a new CEO, six months after the whole acquisition. According to a report from Bloomberg, the new chief is a woman and will start in about six weeks. Musk did not name his successor but indicated that she will also be handling X.
Because of this, he will transition from a different position and will remain the sole owner of the company. In his tweet, he stated he will now become the company's Executive Chair and Chief Technology Officer to oversee products, software, and sysops.
Also Read: Twitter's Purge: Elon Musk's Inactive User Policy Requires Logging in Every 30 Days or Lose Account
His departure as the Chief Twit comes after asking his followers in a poll if he should step down, with 57.7% answering yes. Musk revealed that he was planning to step down from the position before the end of 2023 until he appoints his successor, noting that he would honor the results of the poll.
Speculated Replacements
The ones who are the potential replacement for Musk in this position are executives who are with ties to him. The list includes Twitter's Ella Irwin who handles Trust and Safety, Tesla's Board Member Robyn Denholm, SpaceX's President and COO Gwynne Shotwell, and NBCUniversal's Linda Yaccarino who leads Ads and Partnerships.
The Straits Times reported that Yaccarino was in the talks for the top post and she is Musk's choice to lead the company. However, an NBCUniversal spokesperson stated, "Linda is in back-to-back rehearsals for the Upfront," as she gets ready for a presentation for advertisers on Monday.
Musk's Leadership
(Photo : Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Elon Musk, founder and chief engineer of SpaceX speaks at the 2020 Satellite Conference and Exhibition March 9, 2020 in Washington, DC. Musk answered a range of questions relating to SpaceX projects during his appearance at the conference.
Musk's time as the CEO has drawn criticism for his unexpected changes in the operations of the company. Aside from firing the company's top executives, he also laid off hundreds of employees as he believed that it is necessary for the financial health of the company.
Twitter's core advertising business has also suffered under his leadership, where companies halted their promotional campaigns as they saw an increase in hate speech. As a result of the massive decline in advertising, Twitter's revenue has fallen by 50% since then.
CNBC reported that he tried to make up for this failure with a new subscription service called Twitter Blue, offering exclusive features like access to the edit button and the ability to compose longer tweets.
The blue checkmarks are also now executive to Twitter Blue, removing its access to non-paying subscribers even from legitimate and famous accounts that have millions of followers. Government and other private corporate accounts will retain their verification checkmarks through a separate set of icons in silver and gold.
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