Appointing new Twitter CEO will allow me to focus on Tesla: Musk

New Delhi, May 13 (IANS) The appointment of Linda Yaccarino, former Chairman of Global Advertising and Partnerships at NBC Universal, as Twitter CEO will free Elon Musk to devote more to Tesla and bring it back on course.

Musk’s role will now transition to being executive chair and CTO, “overseeing product, software and system operations.”

“Bringing on Linda allows me to devote more time to Tesla, which is exactly what I will be doing,” Musk said on Saturday.

Tesla’s operating income decreased 24 per cent to $2.7 billion in Q1 2023 as the Musk-run EV maker continues to cut prices of its vehicles.

In an earnings call with analysts, Musk said that Tesla will start delivering its long-delayed Cybertruck in the third quarter of 2023.

“It takes time to get the manufacturing line going, and this is really a very radical product. It’s not made in the way that other cars are made,” Musk said late last month.

In the first quarter, Tesla’s automotive revenue reached about $19.9 billion, an 18 per cent increase YoY.

Tesla ended the March quarter with free cash flow of $441 million, down 80 per cent from the same period last year.

The company has drastically lowered the prices of EVs across its lineup in the US and Europe, in an effort to boost sales as its stock plummeted more than 60 per cent earlier this year.

Musk had hinted that more price increases may be on the way as Tesla adjusts to the demand created by the massive price cuts.