Elon Musk says new Twitter chief has been hired

Elon Musk on Thursday said he has hired someone to replace him as boss of Twitter and its newly named X Corporation parent.

Twitter users in December voted to oust owner Musk as chief executive in an unscientific poll he organized and promised to honor, just weeks after he took charge of the social media giant.

"Excited to announce that I've hired a new CEO for X/Twitter," Musk said in a tweet, without disclosing the name of his replacement but adding that she would start in the job in about six weeks.

"My role will transition to being exec chair & chief technology officer, overseeing product, software & system operations," the billionaire added.

Musk's running of Twitter has been criticized as taking his attention away from his jobs heading Tesla and SpaceX.

However, he appears to be "finally reading the room" regarding "this Twitter nightmare" and the "impossible task" of trying to balance running Twitter, Tesla and SpaceX, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said in a note to investors.

If Musk follows through on the announcement, he will be belatedly fulfilling the promise he made to honor the results of his Twitter poll.

A total of 57.5 percent of more than 17 million accounts voted for him to step down.

"I will resign as CEO as soon as I find someone foolish enough to take the job!" Musk tweeted at the time.

Musk has fully owned Twitter since late October and has repeatedly courted controversy as CEO, sacking most of its staff, readmitting far-right figures to the platform, suspending journalists and charging for previously free services.

NBCUniversal head of global advertising and partnerships, Linda Yaccarino, was a potential candidate for the Twitter chief job, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

"I think whoever he hired deserves our compassion and pity," said independent tech analyst Rob Enderle of Enderle Group.

"The real test will be whether he can step aside and let her do her job."