Twitter chief Elon Musk said on Wednesday that a new CEO could launch the online platform by the end of 2023, after a “rollercoaster” start to acquiring full ownership last year.
“I think the end of the year should be a good time to find someone else to run the company,” he said at the World Government Summit conference in Dubai via video.
“I need to stabilize the organization and make sure it’s in a healthy place and the product roadmap is clear…
Musk paid $44 billion for his favorite social media platform and exiting day-to-day operations will allow him to fend off criticism that he is neglecting his other ventures, notably car company Tesla, which has seen its share price plummet since taking over Twitter.
Musk has given some hints about the type of leader he is looking for. On December 21, when he first announced his plans to step down as CEO, he said only that he would limit his own duties to software and server engineering if “someone stupid enough” had taken his place.
Since Musk took full ownership of Twitter on October 27, the platform has been in chaos, with mass layoffs, the return of banned accounts and the suspension of journalists critical of the South African-born billionaire.
Musk’s takeover also saw racist or hateful tweets, drawing scrutiny from regulators and driving away big advertisers, Twitter’s main source of revenue.
“It’s been a rollercoaster,” Musk told the Dubai conference.
Last week, thousands of Twitter users reported problems using the platform as the social network began allowing paid users to send tweets of up to 4,000 characters.
US tech media reported that Musk told Twitter staff to stop working on new features to focus on solving problems.
Despite the difficulties, the Twitter boss encourages more communication.
“As a forum for communication, it is good. And I would just encourage more communication … to speak in an authentic voice.
“Sometimes, other people will be Twitter managers or something like that. People just have to make their own tweets… I think that’s the way to do it.