ELON MUSK has announced that he will step down as CEO of Twitter in the coming weeks.
On Thursday, Twitter’s owner announced on the social media platform that the new CEO, an unnamed woman, will begin in about six weeks.
Meanwhile, Musk announced that he will step down as executive chairman and chief technology officer, overseeing product, software, and system operations.
Last October, Musk completed his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter.
Following his takeover of Twitter, Musk immediately cut hundreds of jobs in an attempt to save the company from bankruptcy and fired senior executives, including former CEO Parag Agrawal.
Musk stated in November that he planned to devote his time to Twitter as he redesigned the social media platform before finding a new leader.
Since then, the tech billionaire has made a number of changes to the blue bird platform, including restoring accounts that had been banned for rule violations, charging users for verified status, and cracking down on bot and spam accounts.
Twitter’s new subscription allows users to access account verification – the site’s signature blue checkmark – for $8 per month, or $96 per year.
Twitter previously verified celebrities, politicians, journalists, and other public figures on an individual basis in order to confirm their identities and prevent imposters.
On Thursday, he also cautioned Twitter users to exercise caution when testing the social media platform’s new encrypted direct message feature.
“Early version of encrypted direct messages just launched. Try it, but don’t trust it yet,” Musk tweeted.
His takeover, however, drew criticism from critics who claimed it would “provide a loudhailer to extremists who traffic in white nationalism, hate, disinformation, and harassment,” endangering marginalised communities.
Several advertisers have also pulled their content from Twitter, fearing that Musk’s views on free speech will harm their reputation.
Earlier this week, Musk shared details about new features, including adding calls and encrypted messaging, coming to the platform.
“Coming soon will be voice and video chat from your handle to anyone on this platform, so you can talk to people anywhere in the world without giving them your phone number,” Musk said in a tweet.
