ELON Musk says that he has found a new chief executive to lead Twitter.
He announced the news on the social media platform, which he bought last year for $44bn (£35.2bn).
Mr Musk did not name the site’s new boss but said “she” would start in six weeks, at which point he would become executive chairman and chief technology officer.
He has been under pressure to name someone else to lead the company and focus on his other businesses.
Last year, after Twitter users voted for him to step down in an online poll, he said: “No one wants the job who can actually keep Twitter alive.”
However, although Mr Musk had said he would hand over the reins, it was by no means clear when or even if it would happen.
Tesla shares rose after the announcement. Mr Musk has previously been accused by shareholders of abandoning Tesla after his takeover of Twitter and damaging the car company’s brand.
“We ultimately view this as a major step forward with Musk finally reading the room that has been around this Twitter nightmare,” Dan Ives from the investment firm Wedbush Securities said.
“Trying to balance Twitter, Tesla, and SpaceX as CEOs (is) an impossible task that needed to change,” Mr Ives added.
According to two US media reports, NBCUniversal’s head of advertising Linda Yaccarino was in talks to become the chief executive of Twitter. The Wall Street Journal and Variety cited people familiar with the matter.
Twitter did not comment on the reports. NBCUniversal did not immediately respond to a BBC request for comment.
It is sometimes difficult to know when the billionaire and owner of Twitter is being serious.
Last month, when the BBC asked Mr Musk who was going to be boss of Twitter, he said he had made a dog Twitter’s leader.
