Elon Musk is handing a truckload of mess to Twitter's new CEO

• Elon Musk is finally ready to share his Twitter mess with someone else.
• The billionaire has found a new CEO to succeed him, but the mess they'll need to address is huge.

It's been a long time coming but Elon Musk is finally ready to do it: he's about to hand over his Twitter mess to someone else.

On Thursday, the billionaire announced that he had hired a new CEO to take the reins at the social-media company. There are few clues about who it is other than the fact it may be a "she," who will take over from Musk in six weeks.

At this stage, it's uncertain who this could be. An early frontrunner is Linda Yaccarino, an advertising executive who has resigned from her role at NBCUniversal, CNBC reported on Friday.

Yaccarino has been in talks with Twitter to take on the role, per the Wall Street Journal.

Regardless of who it is, the incoming CEO will be left with a big mess to sort out after Musk's $44 billion takeover of Twitter and chaotic run at the company. Here are the four big challenges she faces.

Twitter's finances are a mess

The first challenge Musk's decidedly bumpy reign has left for his successor is Twitter's financial mess.

Musk's takeover of Twitter was fueled in part by a $13 billion debt package that has lumped the company with a real financial burden. Musk repeatedly said Twitter was weeks away from bankruptcy after taking charge, making revenue a top priority.

For any new CEO, that means finding a way of turning Twitter into a revenue-generating machine. The company's 2021 earnings – its last full-year results before being delisted – showed it was hugely loss-making with a net loss of $221.4 million.

Musk has introduced new measures to improve this dicey situation, by getting users to pay for services like verification. Musk is handing out blue checks for free given the poor takeup for the subscription service, so his successor will need backup plans. It is unclear how much money Musk has made from this to date.

The risk of an advertiser exodus

The second challenge facing the new CEO is the battle to hold onto advertisers – a battle that will face its defining moment as Twitter enters its Tucker Carlson era.

The former Fox News host, who was dismissed last month, announced this week that he would be launching a new show on Twitter. Given his notoriety for controversy, that could be a fatal double-edged sword for Twitter's new chief.

On the one hand, the roughly 3 million viewers who would tune into Carlson's Fox News show each night are likely to follow him on Twitter. That's a win for the company.

On the other hand, the potential for Carlson's broadsides to slip into the conspiratorial and vitriolic will greatly test the patience of advertisers. Half of Twitter's top 100 advertisers paused ads a month after Musk's takeover; the same could happen again.

The rise of Twitter rivals

The third challenge is competition. Musk's penchant for rubbing people the wrong way has led several opportunists to recognize the frustration users and advertisers have had in recent months by introducing them to rival platforms.

Some, like Mastodon, a decentralized social-media service, have struggled to attract significant numbers given its clunkiness and long waitlist to join. Others, however, are proving more effective.

Bluesky, which has a waitlist of around 2 million people, is backed by Twitter cofounder Jack Dorsey and has already managed to develop an active user base, which includes the likes of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rep. Robert Garcia.

Newsletter platform Substack, meanwhile, has launched a Twitter-style feature called Notes, while earning a following from former Musk confidants such as journalist Matt Taibbi.

For Twitter's new CEO, the threat these platforms pose is very real. One egregious slip of the tongue from Carlson or any potential guests on his new Twitter show could see users – and lucrative ad execs – flocking towards any number of other tweeting alternatives.

The long shadow of Elon Musk

The fourth challenge, of course, is Musk himself. The billionaire's shift towards a "hardcore" culture at the company did not sit well with many employees. Despite relinquishing CEO duties, he plans on retaining control as executive chair and chief technology officer.

The outsized influence of Musk will put pressure on arguably the most important matter: deciding what Twitter actually is. Musk's chaotic approach to moderation and verification has turned news organizations cold – despite those organizations being at the heart of Twitter.

NPR, which had its Twitter account labeled as "state-affiliated media," has not tweeted since April 12. If news organizations are continuously maligned, Twitter's new CEO will need to solve an identity crisis.

Whoever it is that replaces Musk, they can only hope he doesn't add even more to their plate. Anything can happen in six weeks.