Several months after Elon Musk’s acquisition ofTwitter, the controversial social media giant will soon have a new CEO following a months-long search. On May 12, Musk named his successor in a Tweet and asked skepticalTwitter usersto give the incoming CEO a chance to prove themselves when they officially assume the post in the coming weeks.Musk’s tenure as CEO of Twitter has been anything but smooth. Following his $44 billion takeover of the company, Musk made sweeping and controversial changes to reshape the social media platform, including changes to the account verification process, the reinstatement of certain banned accounts such as former U.S. President Donald Trump, and numerous layoffs across the company’s then-7,500 employees. However, two months into his tenure, Musk released a poll thatasked Twitter users if he should resign as CEOof the site. With 57% of the vote supporting his resignation, Musk quickly backtracked on the poll. But, a new CEO will soon take office as Twitter looks to an uncertain future.RELATED:Elon Musk Defends MrBeast’s Controversial VideoMusk named Linda Yaccarino, the former NBCUniversal lead of advertising sales, to the position of Twitter CEO. However, Musk stated that he will remain withTwitterin the position of CTO and executive chair, with a focus on overseeing the development of products and software. Musk stated that he will host a Twitter Space with Yaccarino in the near future to address any concerns users have with this sudden change to the site. However, Yaccarino will have an uphill battle as she takes command of the business side of Twitter.
Reception to Yaccarino’s appointment was mixed among Twitter users, with many expressing support or discontent over her approach to free speech and how much control a company should or should not have over it. While her approach towards the post remains to be seen, Musk reiterated that he will remain in control of the technical side of things. While this may not lead to the restoration of somecrucial security features to Twitter, only time will tell what the change up top will do to Twitter’s bottom line in the future.
The announcement of Yaccarino’s appointment came just a day after Twitter announced that it will startdeleting accounts that have been inactivefor at least 30 days. This change was not met warmly by current users, especially by those that wanted to preserve the accounts of deceased users or the accounts of those that left Twitter in the wake of Musk’s buyout. Between that and the new CEO’s takeover, the Elon Musk era of Twitter will not leave the spotlight anytime soon.
