After announcing last year that he would be stepping down as Twitter CEO, Elon Musk has disclosed that it will likely be nearly a year until he finds a new leader.
Key Details
- Musk now says that the new CEO will likely be in place by the end of this year.
- “I think I need to stabilize the organization and just make sure it’s in a financially healthy place and that the product road map is clearly laid out,” Musk says.
- The Tesla CEO’s decision to find a new CEO comes at a time when Tesla investors are questioning if Musk can handle both companies while keeping up with the needs of Tesla, SpaceX, and other responsibilities.
Why it’s news
Musk’s time as CEO has been fraught with criticism, and critics hope a new CEO to be selected quickly. Musk purchased Twitter for $44 billion last October and promised free speech and more transparency from the social-media company. His critics have questioned his ways of accomplishing those goals.
Shortly after taking over Twitter, Musk fired many executives and leaders in the company. He laid off an additional 2,000 of Twitter’s 8,000 employees. Advertisers have left the platform, raising concerns about a Twitter bankruptcy, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Investors at Tesla and SpaceX have expressed concerns that the CEO has stretched himself too thinly, covering multiple organizations at once. Musk has promised a new CEO, but a candidate has yet to appear, though there have been speculations.
Musk is aware of the need for a new CEO. While speaking at the World Government Summit in Dubai, Musk talked about his busy work schedule involving six hours of sleep and seven days of work each week. “Frankly, I would like to work a bit less than that,” he says.
However, Musk’s hesitation in making a decision seems to be related to his attempts to stabilize Twitter before passing the reins to someone else. Musk has been aggressively cutting back on costs, but he still only expects Twitter to break even this year.
Amid declining ad revenue, Musk has pushed Twitter subscription services, such as paying a monthly fee for a verified blue check mark.
