Elon Musk says he plans to find a new chief executive officer (CEO) to run social media giant Twitter by the end of this year.
Musk, who has been helming Twitter since buying the company for $44 billion U.S. last October, says he likely needs the rest of 2023 to turn things around at the social media concern.
A prolonged stint running Twitter has investors concerned that Musk is distracted from running his other major business, electric vehicle maker Tesla (TSLA). Musk took Twitter private shortly after buying the company last fall.
“I need to stabilize the organization and just make sure it’s in a financially healthy place and the product road map is clearly laid out,” Musk said about Twitter at a World Government Summit held in Dubai this week.
“I’m guessing toward the end of this year should be a good timing to find someone else to run the company,” the 51-year-old entrepreneur said.
Since acquiring Twitter, Musk has said multiple times that he plans to step aside but has never said when that might be before now.
Musk’s lack of focus on Tesla has drawn criticism from investors and analysts, who have called on him to pay more attention to the EV maker as it faces increased competition from other automakers.
In addition to Twitter and Tesla, Musk also owns and operates privately held Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX), a commercial space concern, and the Boring Company that is engaged in commercial tunneling.
Musk has said that he works seven days a week and sleeps six hours a night. His personal fortune is estimated at $187 billion U.S., according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Concerning Twitter, Musk has said that the challenge in finding a new permanent CEO is identifying “someone foolish enough to take the job.”
