Musk to Step Down as Twitter CEO Once He Finds ‘Someone Foolish’ Enough as Successor

Twitter logo and a photo of Elon Musk are displayed through magnifier in this illustration taken October 27, 2022. (Reuters)
Twitter logo and a photo of Elon Musk are displayed through magnifier in this illustration taken October 27, 2022. (Reuters)
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Musk to Step Down as Twitter CEO Once He Finds ‘Someone Foolish’ Enough as Successor

Twitter logo and a photo of Elon Musk are displayed through magnifier in this illustration taken October 27, 2022. (Reuters)
Twitter logo and a photo of Elon Musk are displayed through magnifier in this illustration taken October 27, 2022. (Reuters)

Billionaire Elon Musk said on Tuesday he will step down as chief executive of Twitter Inc once he finds a replacement, but will still run some key divisions of the social media platform.

"I will resign as CEO as soon as I find someone foolish enough to take the job! After that, I will just run the software & servers teams," Musk wrote on Twitter.

Musk's $44 billion takeover of Twitter in October has been marked by chaos and controversy, with some investors questioning if he is too distracted to also properly run his electric vehicle automaker Tesla Inc, in which he is personally involved in production and engineering.

This is the first time Musk has mentioned stepping down as chief of the social media platform, after Twitter users voted for him to resign in a poll, which the billionaire launched on Sunday evening. In the poll, 57.5% of around 17.5 million people voted "yes." Musk had said on Sunday he would abide by the results. He has not provided a time frame for when he will step down and no successor has been named.

The poll results capped a whirlwind week that included changes to Twitter's privacy policy and the suspension - and reinstatement - of journalists' accounts that drew condemnation from news organizations, advocacy groups and officials across Europe.

Musk projected that Twitter's cash flow will break even in 2023, a Bloomberg reporter tweeted on Wednesday, citing comments made in a Twitter Spaces session.

Musk attributed the projection to cost-cutting measures he has undertaken at the social media platform recently, Bloomberg tweeted.

Wall Street calls for Musk to step down had been growing for weeks and recently even Tesla bulls have questioned his focus on the social media platform and how it might distract him from running the EV maker.

Musk has himself said he had too much on his plate, and that he would look for a Twitter CEO. He said on Sunday, though, that there was no successor and that "no one wants the job who can actually keep Twitter alive."



Canada's Cohere, Germany's Aleph Alpha Reportedly in Merger Talks

FILE PHOTO: AI (Artificial Intelligence) letters and robot hand are placed on computer motherboard in this illustration created on June 23, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: AI (Artificial Intelligence) letters and robot hand are placed on computer motherboard in this illustration created on June 23, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
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Canada's Cohere, Germany's Aleph Alpha Reportedly in Merger Talks

FILE PHOTO: AI (Artificial Intelligence) letters and robot hand are placed on computer motherboard in this illustration created on June 23, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: AI (Artificial Intelligence) letters and robot hand are placed on computer motherboard in this illustration created on June 23, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

Artificial intelligence companies Cohere of Canada and Aleph Alpha of Germany are in talks to merge and have Berlin's support for a potential deal, newspaper Handelsblatt reported late on Thursday.

Citing government and industry sources, the paper said the German government would be willing to become a key customer of a combined company, part of a push to provide digital public services.

"If leading AI companies from Canada and Germany were to join forces that would send a very strong signal," German Digital Minister Karsten Wildberger told the ⁠paper.

Germany and Canada ⁠were already collaborating closely in the field, he was also quoted as saying.

Aleph Alpha told Reuters that regular discussions over strategic partnerships were standard practice in the AI industry and that Aleph Alpha had its own independent strategy, declining to comment further.

Cohere said it meets "with companies and institutions ⁠across Germany and Europe and continually evaluates strategic opportunities that support our global growth."

It also pointed Reuters to its international expansion efforts as well as to the Canadian-German Sovereign Technology Alliance agreed this year, but would not comment further.

Germany's research and digital ministries did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Handelsblatt said merger talks started early this year and had reached an advanced stage, with plans for the new entity to be headquartered in both countries.

Germany has been eager to catch ⁠up with ⁠dominant AI players the US and China in a global race to master a transformational technology and attract high-income jobs. India has also emerged as a contender.

Last month, Berlin unveiled plans to encourage investments to boost AI data processing capacity at least fourfold by 2030.

Microsoft, which is collaborating with Cohere, unveiled $23 billion in AI investments in December, with the bulk earmarked for India and parts for Canada.

That was after Alphabet's Google said it would spend $15 billion over five years on an AI data center in India.


Apple Reportedly Leads Global Smartphone Shipments in 1st Quarter

FILE PHOTO: The Apple logo is seen during the preview of the redesigned and reimagined Apple Fifth Avenue store in New York, US, September 19, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The Apple logo is seen during the preview of the redesigned and reimagined Apple Fifth Avenue store in New York, US, September 19, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
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Apple Reportedly Leads Global Smartphone Shipments in 1st Quarter

FILE PHOTO: The Apple logo is seen during the preview of the redesigned and reimagined Apple Fifth Avenue store in New York, US, September 19, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The Apple logo is seen during the preview of the redesigned and reimagined Apple Fifth Avenue store in New York, US, September 19, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

iPhone-maker Apple led smartphone shipments in the first quarter, growing 5% year-on-year, ⁠even as overall ⁠global shipments remained ⁠under pressure due to a shortage of memory components and weak consumer sentiment, Counterpoint Research ⁠said ⁠on Friday.

Apple said on Thursday that it will shut down its retail store in Towson, Maryland, the first of its US locations where retail employees successfully unionized in 2022.

It described the decision as "difficult", citing the departure of several retailers and worsening conditions at the Towson Town Center mall as key reasons for the closure.

Apple said Towson employees will ⁠be eligible to ⁠apply for open roles at the company.

In 2022, more than 100 Apple workers in Towson voted to join the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers (IAM) union, marking a milestone ⁠for unionization at major US corporations such as Amazon.com and Starbucks.

Around the same time, a similar union drive in Atlanta was withdrawn, with Apple workers alleging intimidation.


Saudi Day of Digital Transformation and AI at World Bank Focuses on Global AI Governance

The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) and the Digital Government Authority, in cooperation with the World Bank Group, organized the “Saudi Day of Digital Transformation and Artificial Intelligence. (SPA)
The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) and the Digital Government Authority, in cooperation with the World Bank Group, organized the “Saudi Day of Digital Transformation and Artificial Intelligence. (SPA)
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Saudi Day of Digital Transformation and AI at World Bank Focuses on Global AI Governance

The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) and the Digital Government Authority, in cooperation with the World Bank Group, organized the “Saudi Day of Digital Transformation and Artificial Intelligence. (SPA)
The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) and the Digital Government Authority, in cooperation with the World Bank Group, organized the “Saudi Day of Digital Transformation and Artificial Intelligence. (SPA)

The Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) and the Digital Government Authority, in cooperation with the World Bank Group, organized the “Saudi Day of Digital Transformation and Artificial Intelligence” on Thursday at the World Bank Group headquarters in Washington.

The event brought together speakers from government entities, international experts, and academics, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Friday.

The event aimed to exchange expertise and best practices in AI and digital transformation, strengthen institutional cooperation, and review the latest initiatives and technologies supporting the development and efficiency of government services, thereby reinforcing the Kingdom’s global standing and leadership.

The sessions discussed the future of AI governance worldwide, prospects for developing regulatory frameworks, and the importance of expanding international cooperation to advance ethical and trustworthy practices for AI applications.

During the event, the Kingdom also highlighted several of its achievements in digital transformation, data, and AI.