Elon Musk hopes to have Twitter CEO toward the end of year
Dubai (AP): Billionaire Elon Musk said Wednesday that he anticipates finding a CEO for Twitter "probably toward the end of this year."
Speaking via a video call to the World Government Summit in Dubai, Musk said making sure the platform can function remained the most important thing for him.
"I think I need to stabilize the organization and just make sure it's in a financial healthy place," Musk said when asked about when he'd name a CEO. "I'm guessing probably toward the end of this year would be good timing to find someone else to run the company."
Musk, 51, made his wealth initially on the finance website PayPal, then created the spacecraft company SpaceX and invested in the electric car company Tesla. In recent months, however, more attention has been focused on the chaos surrounding his
44 billion purchase of the microblogging site Twitter.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military's use of Musk's satellite internet service Starlink as it defends itself against Russia's ongoing invasion has put Musk off and on at the center of the war.
Musk offered a wide-ranging 35-minute discussion that touched on the billionaire's fears about artificial intelligence, the collapse of civilization and the possibility of space aliens. But questions about Twitter kept coming back up as Musk described both Tesla and SpaceX as able to function without his direct, day-to-day involvement.
"Twitter is still somewhat a startup in reverse," he said. "There's work required here to get Twitter to sort of a stable position and to really build the engine of software engineering."
Musk also sought to portray his takeover of San Francisco-based Twitter as a cultural correction.
"I think that the general idea is just to reflect the values of the people as opposed to imposing the values of essentially San Francisco and Berkeley, which are so somewhat of a niche ideology as compared to the rest of the world," he said. "And, you know, Twitter was, I think, doing a little too much to impose a niche."
Musk's takeover at Twitter has seen mass firings and other cost-cutting measures. Musk, who is on the hook for about
1 billion in yearly interest payments for his purchase, has been trying to find way to maximize profits at the company.
However, some of Musk's decisions have conflicted with the reasons that journalists, governments and others rely on Twitter as an information-sharing platform.
Musk on Wednesday described the need for users to rely on Twitter for trusted information from verified accounts. However, a confused rollout to a paid verified account system saw some impersonate famous companies, leading to a further withdrawal of needed advertising cash to the site.
"Twitter is certainly quite the rollercoaster," he acknowledged.
Forbes estimates Musk's wealth at just under
200 billion. The Forbes analysis ranks Musk as the second-wealthiest person on Earth, just behind French luxury brand magnate Bernard Arnault.
But Musk also has become a thought leader for some as well, albeit an oracle that is trying to get six hours of sleep a night despite the challenges at Twitter.
Musk described his children as being "programmed by Reddit and YouTube." He warned that artificial intelligence should be regulated "very carefully," describing it as akin to the promise of nuclear power but the danger of atomic bombs. He also cautioned against having a single civilization or "too much cooperation" on Earth, saying it could "collapse" a society that's like a "tiny candle in a vast darkness."
And asked about the existence of aliens, Musk had a firm response.
"The crazy thing is, I've seen no evidence of alien technology or alien life whatsoever. And I think I'd know because of SpaceX," he said. "I don't think anybody knows more about space, you know, than me."
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Over 100 students fall ill after having food at state-run residential school in Odisha; 1 dead
Baripada (Odisha) (PTI): A Class 5 student died on Tuesday, two days after having a meal at her government-run tribal residential school in Odisha's Mayurbhanj district, officials said, and claimed that more than 100 of her schoolmates have fallen ill after having the food.
Officials said the students of the Kakabandha Ashram School had complained of discomfort and fallen ill after having food items "not mentioned in the authorised menu" on Sunday morning.
Parents of the affected students claimed the children had fermented rice ('pakhala'), mashed potatoes, and mango chutney, following which they suffered from loose motion and vomiting.
More than 100 students fell ill, and they were rushed to the local community health centre, from where 67 of them were shifted to the PMR Medical College and Hospital at Baripada in a serious state, officials said.
"Rupali Besra, a student of Class 5, had to be admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the hospital on Monday. Despite continuous medical intervention, she died on Tuesday morning," said Mayurbhanj district collector Hema Kanta Say.
The officer also said, "At present, 66 students are undergoing treatment at the hospital, while another 41 are admitted at the community health centre. One medical team has been sent to the health centre while another is camping at the school."
Some more students are being admitted to the hospital, the district collector said.
"Besides the police probe, we will conduct an independent inquiry, as it was alleged that the headmaster had served food that was not mentioned in the menu. Action will be taken against teachers and officials responsible for the incident," he told reporters.
A police case has been registered based on a complaint lodged by the deceased's mother, the district collector added.
After the incident came to light, villagers blocked the Rasgovindpur-Jaleswar road, demanding compensation for the deceased's family and action against the persons responsible for the incident.
The school's headteacher, Jayant Kumar Panigrahi, has been suspended for negligence on duty, and the government has announced Rs 7 lakh ex gratia to the family of the deceased student, officials said.
Odisha Housing and Urban Development Krushna Chandra Mahapatra met with the students admitted to the hospital and spoke to their parents.
