Beautiful Virgin Islands

Wednesday, Jul 16, 2025

Elon Musk says his dog is now Twitter's CEO - as company's name gets quietly changed

Elon Musk says his dog is now Twitter's CEO - as company's name gets quietly changed

Prior to his takeover, Elon Musk spoke of an ambition to turn Twitter into "X, the everything app". According to a court document filed in California, and a subsequent tweet by Musk, that plan is beginning to take shape.

Elon Musk has said his dog has replaced him as Twitter's chief executive after appearing to back away from a pledge to step down.

The billionaire SpaceX boss took over the day-to-day running of the social media platform after buying it for $44bn (£38bn) last October.

After a tumultuous start to his tenure, which included thousands of staff sacked and warnings from regulators, Musk appeared to commit to quitting as CEO.

He set a Twitter poll in motion last December, writing: "Should I step down as head of Twitter? I will abide by the results of this poll."

Reminded of the pledge during an impromptu live BBC interview on Tuesday, Musk said: "I did stand down. I keep telling you I'm not the CEO of Twitter, my dog is the CEO of Twitter."

Musk, 51, has regularly made light of the controversy surrounding his stewardship of Twitter, and recently replaced its recognisable bird logo with the icon of cryptocurrency Dogecoin - a Shiba Inu like his dog Floki.

The "w" in Twitter was also removed from signage outside the company's San Francisco headquarters.

Musk's rare interview

Musk's BBC interview was broadcast in a Twitter Spaces call, and came after the broadcaster objected to being labelled "government-funded media" on the platform.

The BBC said it was arranged at short notice and took place at the firm's HQ.

Musk is regularly critical of media outlets, and recently removed The New York Times' verification tick after the newspaper said it would not pay to keep it.

Accounts will soon have to be signed up to subscription service Twitter Blue to have a blue checkmark.

After numerous false starts, Musk has said legacy checkmarks will finally be removed on 20 April. Journalists are among the accounts set to be impacted.


 Running Twitter 'a rollercoaster'

Having remained CEO, Musk admitted running Twitter had been "quite a rollercoaster" - and suggested he only went through with the takeover because a judge would have forced him to.

Musk had tried to back out after making his initial offer in April 2022, prompting Twitter to sue.

He said he has around 1,500 employees left after last year's mass lay-offs. Among those let go were engineers responsible for preventing service outages, sources told Reuters news agency.

Twitter has suffered several bugs and outages since the turn of the year, according to internet watchdog group NetBlocks, but Musk said any problems had not lasted long.

Musk also rejected claims that there had been a rise in hate speech and misinformation on Twitter.

Is a new name imminent?

The interview came as it emerged Twitter Inc no longer exists as a company.

According to a court document filed in California, it has been merged into a firm dubbed X Corp.

Musk appeared to confirm the move by tweeting an "X".

 Prior to his takeover, Musk spoke of an ambition to turn Twitter into "X, the everything app".

The vague idea has been compared China's WeChat, which combines features such as messaging, a marketplace, and public Twitter-style posts into one place.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Defends Attorney General Pam Bondi Amid Epstein Memo Backlash
Renault Shares Drop as CEO Luca de Meo Announces Departure Amid Reports of Move to Kering
Senior Aides for King Charles and Prince Harry Hold Secret Peace Summit
Anti‑Semitism ‘Normalised’ in Middle‑Class Britain, Says Commission Co‑Chair
King Charles Meets David Beckham at Chelsea Flower Show
If the Department is Really About Justice: Ghislaine Maxwell Should Be Freed Now
NYC Candidate Zohran Mamdani’s ‘Antifada’ Remarks Spark National Debate on Political Language and Economic Policy
President Trump Visits Flood-Ravaged Texas, Praises Community Strength and First Responders
From Mystery to Meltdown, Crisis Within the Trump Administration: Epstein Files Ignite A Deepening Rift at the Highest Levels of Government Reveals Chaos, Leaks, and Growing MAGA Backlash
Trump Slams Putin Over War Death Toll, Teases Major Russia Announcement
Reparations argument crushed
Rainmaker CEO Says Cloud Seeding Paused Before Deadly Texas Floods
A 92-year-old woman, who felt she doesn't belong in a nursing home, escaped the death-camp by climbing a gate nearly 8 ft tall
French Journalist Acquitted in Controversial Case Involving Brigitte Macron
Elon Musk’s xAI Targets $200 Billion Valuation in New Fundraising Round
Kraft Heinz Considers Splitting Off Grocery Division Amid Strategic Review
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
EU Proposes New Tax on Large Companies to Boost Budget
Trump Imposes 35% Tariffs on Canadian Imports Amid Trade Tensions
Junior Doctors in the UK Prepare for Five-Day Strike Over Pay Disputes
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Biden’s Doctor Pleads the Fifth to Avoid Self-Incrimination on President’s Medical Fitness
Grok Chatbot Faces International Backlash for Antisemitic Content
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
×