Elon Musk to Temporarily Take Over Twitter as CEO After Buyout Deal is Done

By Mary Webber First Posted: May 05, 2022 11:15 PM EDT

Tesla tycoon Elon Musk is seen to temporarily take over Twitter as its new CEO after the social media platform's buyout deal closes, according to sources.

It was earlier reported that Musk had lined up a new CEO for Twitter, but it was not much discussed whether Musk will take a leadership role in the company, according to a CNBC report.

Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal has only led the company for a few months after taking the position from Jack Dorsey last November following his resignation.

Last month, Agrawal told employees that the future of Twitter is uncertain under Musk.

Agrawal reportedly said that once the deal closes, they will not know which direction the social media platform will go.

It was what the Twitter CEO replied when asked whether the social media company will allow former U.S. President Donald Trump to return to the platform when Musk takes over.

Musk has been one of Twitter's most vocal critics, with The Blaze reported that he accused the company of failing to follow free speech principles.

He also promised to make several improvements in both user features and dedication to free speech as the foundation of a functioning democracy under his ownership.

Agrawal is set to receive a compensation package worth $38.7 million if he is let go from his Twitter CEO position.

Elon Musk Twitter Plans

Musk discussed his plans for Twitter when he arrived on the red carpet at the 2022 Met Gala with his mother.

Independent noted that the Tesla CEO said that he wants to make Twitter "as inclusive as possible," while having "a swath of the country and the rest of the world on Twitter."

Alex Roetter, Twitter's former head of engineering, discussed Musk's proposals for Twitter in Big Technology Podcast.

Roetter noted that pure anonymity cultivates the worst parts of speech online, adding that he is fond of Musk's authentication plans, as well as the removal of spambots.

However, it might not be that simple, according to Roetter.

He noted that to defeat spambots, one had to build a classifier that looks for characteristics of bots and then bans them.

CNBC reported that Roetter said everyone should be prepared for it as there is no perfect spam bot classifier.

Roetter also commented on Musk's plans for free speech, saying that he does not think that there is an answer that would make everybody happy.

Meanwhile, Musk has also been eyeing Twitter's subscription product, which would make people pay for Twitter or certain premium features.

The aim is to help reduce spam and create a revenue stream if Twitter's advertisers want to bail over its new speech rules.

The former Twitter engineer said that it is a "really interesting idea." He added that low-value activity should go away if they change more than the value that people are extracting from it.

Roetter also commented on Musk's plans to add an edit button and allow longer tweets.

He said that he does not think it is going to change any of the main things that everyone is upset about.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by Mary Webber

WATCH: Elon Musk to serve as temporary Twitter CEO following takeover: Sources- from CNBC Television