Elon Musk announces new Twitter CEO, reports point to NBC's Linda Yaccarino 

Elon Musk announced on Thursday that he found a new chief executive officer for Twitter that will start in six weeks, without mentioning who he had picked for the job. 

"Excited to announce that I've hired a new CEO for X/Twitter. She will be starting in ~6 weeks!" Musk posted on Twitter. 

“My role will transition to being exec chair & CTO, overseeing product, software & sysops,” he continued. 

Excited to announce that I’ve hired a new CEO for X/Twitter. She will be starting in ~6 weeks!

My role will transition to being exec chair & CTO, overseeing product, software & sysops.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 11, 2023

Musk became CEO of Twitter in October after he purchased the social media company for $44 billion. In December, Musk launched a Twitter poll asking users whether he should step down as CEO of the company, promising his followers that he would abide by the results. 

At least 17 million respondents from the Twitter community voted that the world’s second-richest man should step down with 57.5% of the vote against 42.5% voting for him to continue in his role with the California based company. 

With the results of the poll, Musk said that he would hand over the position of CEO when he found “someone foolish enough to take the job.” 

While it is unclear who will become CEO of Twitter, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday night that NBCUniversal’s head of advertising Linda Yaccarino was in talks for the position, according to sources familiar with the matter. 

After 15 years at Turner Entertainment, Yaccarino joined NBCU in 2011. She is credited for the launch of NBC’s Peacock streaming service. Yaccarino did not respond to a call seeking her comment on the subject on Thursday. 

Musk has received backlash after making several changes to the social media company. During his first few months Twitter’s new owner, Musk fired top managers, implemented privacy changes, reinstated suspended accounts, and announced new fees associated with the social media platform. 

Twitter is being sued for not paying the rent on its downtown San Francisco headquarters. The social media company owes the landlord of the building $136,260 in unpaid rent, according to the lawsuit filed by Columbia Property Trust.