Elon Musk said that he anticipates finding a CEO for Twitter “probably toward the end of this year” while speaking via a video call to the World Government Summit in Dubai. He also said that as Twitter CEO he is making sure the platform can function properly.
“I think I need to stabilize the organization and make sure it’s in a financial healthy place,” Elon Musk said when asked about when he’d name a CEO. “I’m guessing probably toward the end of this year,” he added.
Elon Musk also talked about his vision for Twitter and his efforts to rid the platform of misinformation asserting that he wanted Twitter to be a source of truth and he encouraged companies, other CEOs and ministers to speak authentically despite attacks.
“Having some criticism is fine. It’s really not that bad. I’m constantly attacked on Twitter. I don’t mind,” Elon Musk said.On children using Twitter and push for limited social media usage, Elon Musk said, “I haven’t tried to restrict social media from my kids, but that may have been a mistake.”
“Twitter is still somewhat of a start up in reverse,” Elon Musk further said lots of work is needed to get Twitter to a “stable position.”
Elon Musk took Twitter private in a $44 billion deal in October.
Meanwhile, investors in Musk’s other company Tesla are concerned that he may be distracted by the events at Twitter at a time when the automaker is facing demand challenges and increasing competition. Musk sold off billions of dollars of Tesla stock to fund his Twitter takeover.
Musk spoke about the thinking behind the acquisition versus building his own social media company. “I thought about creating something from scratch, but I thought Twitter would perhaps accelerate progress versus creating something from scratch by three to five years,” Musk said.
“And I think we are seeing just a tremendous technology acceleration that three to five years is actually worth a lot.”. Musk spoke about his motivations for the Twitter buyout, saying he was “a little worried about the direction and the effect of social media on the world, and especially Twitter.”
