Elon Musk Hires New Twitter CEO, Yet Keeps Her Identity Under Wraps

The era of Elon Musk as the CEO of Twitter is nearing its end, as he recently revealed on Twitter that he has selected a new CEO to take the reins this summer. Although the identity of the incoming CEO remains undisclosed, the transition is expected to occur in approximately six weeks.

Simultaneously, Musk shared his plans to assume the positions of “exec chair & CTO.” In this new role, he will retain oversight over product development, software enhancements, and overall system operations. Despite relinquishing the CEO title, it is evident that Musk intends to maintain a prominent role in shaping the day-to-day functioning of the social media platform, which he acquired for a staggering $44 billion.

Following his acquisition of Twitter in October of last year, Elon Musk wasted no time in expressing his intention to pass on the CEO role. In November, during a court hearing in Delaware, Musk revealed his plans to gradually reduce his involvement with the platform and eventually find a replacement to lead the company. A month later, he humorously tweeted about his willingness to step down as CEO as soon as he found someone willing to take on the position, in response to a poll.

Musk’s tenure as Twitter CEO has been marked by significant turmoil. Shortly after the acquisition, he made the decision to terminate numerous high-ranking executives and lay off hundreds of employees. This, coupled with a subsequent decrease in advertising spending on the platform, led to a substantial drop in revenue, as acknowledged by Musk himself.

One notable change Musk implemented during his time as CEO was the removal of “legacy” blue checkmarks from thousands of users. This move aimed to incentivize subscriptions to Twitter Blue, a service that now offers a verified checkmark as part of its $8 monthly fee. According to Mashable, as of April 2023, approximately 620,000 users were subscribed to Twitter Blue.