Science & Tech

Man claiming to have 'invented email' applies to be Twitter CEO

Man claiming to have 'invented email' applies to be Twitter CEO
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Elon Musk says he will resign as …
content.jwplatform.com

As Elon Musk searches for a predecessor to take over the position of Twitter CEO, several people have offered to take the role off his hands, including a man who claims to be the inventor of email.

Dr Shiva Ayyadurai, an engineer and former Republican Senate candidate, took to Twitter on 24 December to ask Musk to put him in the running for Twitter CEO.

Ayyadurai cited his impressive four degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and his seven successful “high-tech software companies” as well as being “the inventor of email.”

@va_shiva

Although Ayyadurai, 59, does have four degrees from MIT, including a Ph.D., his claim that he is the inventor of email is widely disputed.

Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

Ayyadurai says he invented email in the late 1970s / early 1980s when he was only a teenager, however, historians and ARPANET pioneers have objected to this. His claims have been called "exaggerated" and "bogus."

Additionally, Ayyadurai is also known to spread conspiracy theories and misinformation about the 2020 election and Covid-19.

In 2018 he ran for Massachusetts Senate as an Independent candidate, receiving 3.4 per cent of votes and lost to Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).

But he believes his background in politics, technology, and engineering could make him a great candidate to take over Musk’s position.

Other people, however, aren't so sure.


@EricEdmeades

@CMac474

Already, Musk has received inquiries from prominent social media personalities like Mr Beast and Trainwreck.

Other prominent tech figures like Jack Dorsey and David Sacks have been thrown into the mix of potential successors.

Musk has made no formal statement indicating who will be chosen next for Twitter's CEO but he said whoever takes over “must like pain a lot” to run a company that is “in the fast lane to bankruptcy."

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

The Conversation (0)
x