Elon Musk may appoint a new Twitter CEO soon: Report

Musk intends to develop a means to monetise tweets that become viral or include vital information. He also proposed charging a fee when third-party websites quote or embed verified users' tweets.

New Delhi: Elon Musk has lined up a new CEO for Twitter and informed banks that agreed to help fund his $44 billion takeover offer about his plans to monetize tweets, reveals a new report from Reuters. Musk has decided on who he will choose as the new CEO of Twitter, a source told Reuters, but the source did not name the person. Parag Agrawal, who took over as CEO when Jack Dorsey stepped down in November, is anticipated to stay on until the deal is finalised.

According to Reuters, Musk told Twitter chairman Bret Taylor that he has no faith in the company's management, a stance he has expressed in SEC filings as well. According to the company's latest proxy filing, if the transaction closes and Musk hires new management, Agrawal will receive $38.7 million as a result of a stipulation in his contract.

According to Reuters, Musk told banks that he intends to invent more ways to profit from tweets. He stated, for example, that he intends to develop a means to monetise tweets that become viral or include vital information. He also proposed charging a fee when third-party websites quote or embed verified users' tweets.

According to the Washington Post, Musk also mentioned paying influencers to create content for the platform, which has proven to be a successful revenue model for TikTok. Musk is also thought to be intrigued by the concept of offering subscription services through the company.

Musk indicated big changes to Twitter Blue, the social media giant's membership service, in deleted tweets from earlier this month. Twitter Blue is presently priced at $2.99 per month. Musk proposed lowering the price, adding a dogecoin payment option, and prohibiting advertising. Musk added in another now-deleted tweet that he wants to wean Twitter off its reliance on advertising for a large portion of its revenue.

Musk had also warned the banks that in order to minimise costs, he may cut executive and board salaries at Twitter. According to Reuters, Musk claimed in his pitch to banks that Twitter's gross margin is substantially lower than other social media platforms like Facebook and Pinterest, and that there are methods to manage the firm more cost-effectively.

The transaction, which was unanimously authorised by the board, is expected to finalise this year after shareholder and regulatory approvals, as well as "the satisfaction of other normal closing conditions," according to Twitter. According to a recent SEC filing, if Musk does not complete his acquisition of Twitter, he will be required to pay a $1 billion termination fee. Twitter would be required to pay the same price under certain conditions, according to the document, which details the terms of the agreement.