Elon Musk called On Thursday, he announced that he had selected a CEO for Twitter and that he would continue to serve as the company’s chief executive while he continued to transform the social media service.
Mr Musk did not name the new CEO. In a tweet, he said, “It’s going to start in about 6 weeks!” He added that he will continue to oversee Twitter’s products and software as “CTO” — chief technology officer.
Mr Musk gave no further details and did not respond to an emailed request for comment. In the past he has made promises, which he would do on Twitter and his other companies, but has not kept them.
Musk, who bought Twitter for $44 billion last year, will have a firm grip on the company whether or not he appoints a CEO. As the owner of Twitter, he left his mark on the company by eliminating more than 75 percent of its 7,500 employees, installing his own executives, and changing the service’s functions and strategy. He’s also privatized Twitter, meaning he doesn’t have to share company information with the public.
Mr Musk floated the idea of a CEO for Twitter in December after being criticized for some of his decisions at the company. At the time, he conducted a poll on Twitter asking if he should step down as head of the company. “I will abide by the results of the poll,” he wrote.
More than 17 million votes were cast in the poll, with around 58 percent of those polled supporting his resignation as CEO. In February, during a speech at a conference in Dubai, Mr Musk said he wanted to appoint a new Twitter chief by the end of 2023.
According to two employees, Twitter employees were not notified of a new CEO prior to Mr Musk’s tweet.
Every new CEO faces a variety of challenges at Twitter. The company is facing a declining advertising business, which has been its main source of income, as well as debt payments of about $1.5 billion a year since the sale to Mr. Musk. At an investor conference in March, he said Twitter had seen its advertising revenue plummet by 50 percent and was on its way to bankruptcy within months of its purchase.
Last month, Mr Musk said in an interview with the BBC that most Twitter advertisers have returned.
Mr Musk was also pressured by investors in his other companies – notably electric carmaker Tesla – to break away from the day-to-day management of Twitter, which they saw as a distraction. Shares of Tesla, little changed for most of the day, surged after Mr Musk’s tweet, climbing about 2 percent in the final minutes of trading on Thursday.
Mr. Musk has previously relinquished some managerial responsibilities at his other companies. At SpaceX, his private rocket manufacturer, he has delegated much of the company’s management to Gwynne Shotwell, the president and chief operating officer. This has given Mr. Musk the freedom to focus on technology and product decisions and move between his various companies.