Elon Musk steps down as Twitter CEO

Elon Musk has now officially announced that he will step down as CEO of Twitter. His successor is Linda Yaccarino, previously head of advertising at NBC Universal. Musk plans to remain with the company as chief technical officer.

Resignation after Twitter poll

Musk had taken the CEO post after buying Twitter last year for about $44 billion. His short time in charge at the company was marked by scandals. For example, he locked the profiles of journalists he disliked, fired numerous employees and relaxed many Twitter rules. Unlocking Donald Trump’s profile was also one of Musk’s official acts. In December, Musk himself launched a poll on Twitter asking whether he should step down as CEO of the company. 57.5 percent of participants were in favor, whereupon Musk announced he would follow up with action as soon as his succession was settled. Then on May 13, he announced his resignation was imminent. A day later, it was announced that Linda Yaccarino would take over the job.

Musk will remain with the company

Yaccarino has been in charge of advertising for media company NBC Universal. Yaccarino is considered an admirer of Musk. She recently interviewed him at an industry event, publicly expressing sympathy for his views and goals. Variety, citing sources in Yaccarino’s personal circle, also writes that she has expressed admiration for Musk for some time. The latter will remain at the company – and, as owner, will presumably continue to have considerable influence on its course. In his new position as CTO, Musk wants to focus primarily on product design and new technology. What exactly that means and how he will shape his role in practice is unclear. He went on record to say he is “looking forward to working with Linda to turn this platform into X, the everything app.”