Elon Musk announced Thursday he will be stepping down as Twitter CEO. A decision shy of six months since the prolific businessman bought the company in October of 2022.
The Tesla and SpaceX owner’s time as CEO has been turbulent.
Musk has caused himself blowback from all walks of life on social media. The most significant controversy resulted from the dismantling of Twitter Verification. A system that allowed users to identify celebrities and industry professionals by placing a blue checkmark on a profile.
In doing so, Musk removed legacy checkmarks for most accounts, then established Twitter Blue as a subscription service where users can get their checkmarks by paying $8. A move made fun of by iconic voices such as Stephen King.
With the addition of other controversies — such as reinstating a particular politician — Musk agreed to step down as CEO after taking a vote on the social media platform.
Here are the details on Elon Musk’s Twitter announcement and what the company plans to do next.
Elon Musk stepping down as Twitter CEO
Musk announced on the social media platform that he would be stepping down in six weeks, with the information of a new CEO soon.
However, Musk added he would stay on board as executive chairman and chief technology officer, meaning he will remain an active influence on the platform.
On his Twitter, the Tesla CEO wrote, “Excited to announce that I’ve hired a new CEO for X/Twitter. She will be starting in ~6 weeks!” Musk added, “My role will transition to being exec chair & CTO, overseeing product, software & sysops.”
So who is the new CEO? The social media billionaire has also announced that.
Who is Linda Yaccarino?
Elon Musk has named Linda Yaccarino as the new head of Twitter. Yaccarino was the NBCUniversal advertising executive before the announcement of her new role. The BBC states she worked at Turner Entertainment for almost two decades before jumping to NBCUniversal, and she also helped create Peacock.
Her career is profit-focused, and a lot of it involves getting advertisers and product placement. Twitter has never been a highly profitable company, so hiring an advertising executive makes sense.
Given the decisions made at Twitter recently, some might have questions regarding Linda Yaccarino’s polity. Let’s say there are reasons why Musk hired her.
However, she does seem to have a bias towards the new Pete Davidson show, as we see her promoting Bupkis on social media.
As it stands, the future of Twitter seems unclear. Will Linda Yaccarino make a better CEO? Time will tell. Until then, we will have to nostalgically remember the peaceful times of MySpace.