Elon Musk announced via Twitter that he will be stepping down as CEO of Twitter and transitioning “to being exec chair & CTO, overseeing product, software & sysops.” Musk also revealed that his successor, an unnamed woman, will start in about six weeks.
Investors React Positively to the News
Tesla shares jumped more than 2% upon the announcement, indicating that investors were pleased with Musk’s decision to focus on his role as CEO of the electric vehicle company. Several Tesla investors had previously expressed concerns that Musk was too distracted by running Twitter and urged Tesla’s board to ensure that he would dedicate more time to the automobile company.
Musk’s Leadership at Twitter
Under Musk’s leadership, Twitter’s core advertising business has suffered, with multiple companies halting their paid promotional campaigns due to an increase in offensive speech and hateful rhetoric on the platform. Musk attempted to make up for the shortfall by introducing a new subscription service, Twitter Blue, which offers features such as longer tweets. However, technical errors and outages have plagued Twitter during Musk’s tenure as CEO.
Political Controversy and Tucker Carlson
Musk has courted political controversy on Twitter, making statements such as saying that the media is racist against white and Asian people. He also allowed previously banned users back on the platform. This week, right-wing TV talk show host Tucker Carlson announced he would be hosting a new show on Twitter after being fired by his previous employer, Fox News.
Overall, Musk’s decision to step down as CEO of Twitter and focus on his role at Tesla has been met with positive reactions from investors. The appointment of a female successor is also a step forward for diversity in tech leadership.
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