Elon Musk is making good on his promise to step down as Twitter CEO, but who is bold enough to take his place?
The newbie will have to grapple with a social media platform that has gone through seismic changes under Musk. Thousands of workers have been laid off, celebs are fuming over the loss of their verification badges, while users and advertisers are abandoning ship.
Although we already know that Musk has chosen a woman to lead the firm, and that she will start in six weeks, can we really trust his word? After all, he’s a known joker with an affinity toward puerile memes. Many didn’t even believe he’d step down in the first place after he polled Twitter users on whether he should depart, and they said yes.
With that in mind, we’ve put together a list of possible candidates, from a YouTuber who is keen to land the job to a genuine frontrunner, and all the wildcards in between. With Musk planning to stick around as exec chair and CTO, one thing’s for sure, whoever takes over is in for a wild ride.
Who is Linda Yaccarino?
Let’s get the favourite out of the way first. Media veteran Linda Yaccarino is already pally with Musk and is a big fan of Twitter in general. Currently the head of NBCUniversal’s advertising division, she reckons Twitter is the best place to distribute visual and news content, and wants the platform to bring back live video.
Musk appears to agree: e is pushing to make Twitter a hub for video that can rival TikTok, with notable changes to its home feed that prioritise viral and recommended content. Musk is also trying to lure content creators with the promise of better revenue-sharing deals than YouTube, and other video platforms. Yaccarino could also help restore advertisers’ faith in Twitter as a safe platform for brands and businesses.
On the other hand, she’s part of the same mainstream media that Musk has repeatedly attacked since he acquired Twitter. Coming from a more guarded TV advertising background, her views on content moderation could also clash with Musk’s laissez-faire attitude.
Mr Beast
The popular YouTuber known for viral stunts and challenges, including a real-life Squid Game, previously called himself the official CEO of Twitter. He even asked Musk if he could be the boss, to which Musk replied: “It’s not out of the question”. As we mentioned, Musk wants content creators like Mr Beast to feel at home on Twitter in a bid to challenge TikTok’s social dominance. Handing Mr Beast the top job could be the kind of crazy prank that breaks the internet, and finally causes other YouTubers to sit up and take note of Twitter.
It’s not out of the question
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 22, 2022
Ella Irwin
Along with Yaccarino, Irwin is another realistic candidate for Twitter CEO. As one of Twitter’s existing rank and file, she may be best positioned to get the top job, too. Irwin currently heads Twitter’s trust and safety efforts, and a bunch of staffers reckon she’s in line for the gig, reports Business Insider.
An AI chatbot
According to recent reports, Musk has been hoarding the computing hardware required to create a powerful AI system. He also apparently established an AI company, and is poaching tech boffs from other machine learning firms to run the firm. Maybe, it’s all part of a clandestine plan to hand over Twitter management duties to an all-knowing algorithm. Hell, it’s not like things could get any worse. Right?
Musk’s dog
Okay, hear us out: Musk’s dog, Floki, is already camped at Twitter’s offices with his owner. Musk even joked that the canine had replaced him as Twitter’s chief executive after it initially seemed like he was backing away from a pledge to step down.
Seeing as Musk is sticking around to oversee product, software and system operations, what does that really leave for a new CEO to do? As such, you could argue that the role is purely ceremonial. It may even be a ploy to assuage Tesla investors, who feel he should prioritise the EV giant over Twitter. In which case, why not just pretend a dog is in charge? Frankly, it seems like Musk will be pulling the strings at Twitter anyway.
