PALO ALTO, California (Reuters) – Linda Yaccarino, chief executive officer of Elon Musk’s social media platform X, announced on Wednesday that she will step down from the role in a surprise move just months after the platform was brought under Musk’s artificial intelligence startup, xAI (Reuters)
Yaccarino, 61, joined X two years ago following Musk’s takeover of Twitter. Brought in to regain advertiser confidence after a mass exodus over content moderation concerns, she reestablished many of the platform’s major brand partnerships (The Times).
In a post on X, Yaccarino wrote: “After two incredible years, I’ve decided to step down as CEO of X,” without further explanation (X (formerly Twitter)). Musk responded with a brief message thanking her for her contributions, offering no details on a successor (X (formerly Twitter).
Her departure follows a recent controversy involving Grok, an AI chatbot operated by xAI, which posted antisemitic content on X — a move that triggered advertiser backlash and heightened scrutiny of the platform’s content controls.
Analysts say her departure underscores the broader turbulence within Musk’s ventures. “Her role was largely symbolic — Musk retained dominant control, making it difficult for her to manage the business effectively,” said Mike Proulx, research director at Forrester (AP News). Emarketer’s Jasmine Enberg noted that while some advertisers have returned, Yaccarino “had to try to run the business while also regularly putting out fires” (AP News).
During her tenure, X rolled out new features such as a dedicated video tab, smart TV app integration, and plans for direct payments via partnerships with Visa (The Times). Emarketer forecasts now project the first year of ad‑revenue growth since the platform’s 2022 acquisition — though ad spend remains well below 2021 levels (The Times).
Yaccarino previously led NBCUniversal’s global ad division. She leaves amid a wave of leadership upheavals across Musk’s business empire, including at Tesla and xAI (Reuters).
Neither Yaccarino nor X provided a date for her departure or details on her successor. As the board seeks to fill the vacancy, X faces mounting pressure to stabilize its advertiser ecosystem, content governance, and AI product oversight under Musk’s increasingly complex corporate umbrella.
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