Elon Musk says ‘someone else’ should be running Twitter by end of 2023 after his ‘rollercoaster’ since buying the big tech firm for $44bn in October: Comes as it emerges he gave Tesla shares worth $1.95bn to charity
- ‘I need to stabilise Twitter and make sure it’s in a healthy place,’ Musk said today
- Musk took full ownership of Twitter on October 27 and brought rapid changes
Twitter boss Elon Musk has declared that a new CEO might be running the online platform by the end of 2023, after a ‘rollercoaster’ since he took full ownership last year.
‘I’m guessing probably towards the end of this year should be good timing to find someone else to run the company,’ he told the World Government Summit conference in Dubai via video.
‘I need to stabilise the organisation and make sure it’s in a healthy place and that the product roadmap is clearly laid out… I think it should be in a stable position around the end of this year.’
Musk paid $44 billion for his favourite social media platform and exiting day-to-day operations would allow him to deflect criticism that he is neglecting his other ventures, especially car company Tesla, which has seen its share price plummet since he took over Twitter.
Forbes estimates Musk’s wealth at just under $200 billion. The Forbes analysis ranks Musk as the second-wealthiest person on Earth, just behind French luxury brand magnate Bernard Arnault.
Tech billionaire Elon Musk tells the World Government Summit in Dubai that a new CEO might be running Twitter by the end of 2023, after a ‘rollercoaster’ since he took full ownership of the online platform in October
UAE Minister of Cabinet Affairs Mohammad al-Gergawi (L-on stage) speaks with Elon Musk attending the World Government Summit virtually in Dubai on February 15, 2023
Elon Musk sits between Rupert and Elizabeth Murdoch as they watch the Kansas City Chiefs play the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII from a box in State Farm Stadium, in Glendale, Arizona, U.S., February 12, 2023
Musk has given few clues to what type of leader he is looking for.
On December 21, when he first announced he planned to step down as CEO, he said only that he would limit his own duties to software and server engineering once ‘someone foolish enough’ had taken his place.
Since Musk took full ownership of Twitter on October 27, the platform has undergone a series of rapid changes, with its CEO courting high praise and harsh criticism in equal measure.
‘It has been a rollercoaster,’ Musk told the Dubai conference.
Last week, thousands of Twitter users reported problems using the platform as the social network allowed paying users to post tweets as long as 4,000 characters.
US tech media reported that Musk put out word to Twitter staff to put aside work on new features to focus on troubleshooting.
Despite the difficulties, the Twitter boss encouraged more communication.
‘As a forum for communication, it’s great. And I would just encourage more communication… to sort of speak in an authentic voice.
‘Sometimes, people will have someone else be their sort of Twitter manager or something like that. People should just do their own tweets… I think that’s the way to do it.’
Elon Musk talks virtually during the World Government Summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023
A sign at Twitter headquarters is shown in San Francisco, Dec. 8, 2022
Musk, 51, made his wealth initially on the finance website PayPal, then created the spacecraft company SpaceX and invested in the electric car company Tesla.
He donated shares worth $1.95 billion in Tesla – now the world’s most valuable car maker – to charity last year, a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) showed on Tuesday.
Musk donated about 11.6 million shares between August and December last year, according to the filing, which did not say which organization or organizations were the recipients.
The Tesla CEO signed the Giving Pledge in 2012, a commitment by some billionaires to give at least half their wealth to philanthropy in their lifetime or upon their death.
In 2001, he set up the Musk Foundation, offering grants for the ‘development of safe artificial intelligence to benefit humanity’ among other causes, according to its website.
In recent months, however, more attention has been focused on the chaos surrounding his $44 billion purchase of Twitter and the Ukrainian military’s use of Musk’s Starlink satellites for their communications.
At today’s conference in Dubai, Musk offered a wide-ranging 35-minute discussion that touched on his fears about artificial intelligence, the collapse of civilization and the possibility of space aliens.
But questions about Twitter kept coming back up as Musk described both Tesla and SpaceX as able to function without his direct, day-to-day involvement.
‘Twitter is still somewhat a startup in reverse,’ he said. ‘There’s work required here to get Twitter to sort of a stable position and to really build the engine of software engineering.’
Musk also sought to portray his takeover of San Francisco-based Twitter as a cultural correction.
‘I think that the general idea is just to reflect the values of the people as opposed to imposing the values of essentially San Francisco and Berkeley, which are so somewhat of a niche ideology as compared to the rest of the world,’ he said.
‘And, you know, Twitter was, I think, doing a little too much to impose a niche.’
Musk, 51, made his wealth initially on the finance website PayPal, then created the spacecraft company SpaceX and invested in the electric car company Tesla
Tesla CEO Elon Musk is pictured opening a new Tesla Gigafactory in Germany, March 2022
SpaceX owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk arrives on the red carpet for the Axel Springer Awards ceremony, in Berlin, on December 1, 2020
Musk’s takeover at Twitter has seen mass firings and other cost-cutting measures as he tries to maximize profits at the company.
However, some of Musk’s decisions have conflicted with the reasons that journalists, governments and others rely on Twitter as an information-sharing platform.
Musk on Wednesday described the need for users to rely on Twitter for trusted information from verified accounts. However, a confused rollout to a paid verified account system saw some impersonate famous companies, leading to a further withdrawal of needed advertising cash to the site.
But Musk also has become a thought leader for some as well, albeit an oracle that is trying to get six hours of sleep a night despite the challenges at Twitter.
Musk described his children as being ‘programmed by Reddit and YouTube.’ He warned that artificial intelligence should be regulated ‘very carefully,’ describing it as akin to the promise of nuclear power but the danger of atomic bombs.
He also cautioned against having a single civilization or ‘too much cooperation’ on Earth, saying it could ‘collapse’ a society that’s like a ‘tiny candle in a vast darkness.’
And asked about the existence of aliens, Musk had a firm response.
‘The crazy thing is, I’ve seen no evidence of alien technology or alien life whatsoever. And I think I’d know because of SpaceX,’ he said.
‘I don’t think anybody knows more about space, you know, than me.’
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