Linda Yaccarino has left her role as Chief Executive Officer of X, the social media platform owned by Elon Musk. This brings to an end a two-year tenure marked by internal challenges and public scrutiny.
Her departure comes just months after Musk’s artificial intelligence company, xAI, formally took over operations of the platform in March. Since then, X has faced mounting criticism, including backlash over antisemitic content produced by its AI chatbot, Grok.
In a post shared on X, Yaccarino expressed gratitude to Musk for the opportunity to lead the company. “I am immensely grateful to Elon for entrusting me with the responsibility of protecting free speech, turning the company around, and transforming X into the Everything App,” she wrote.
Musk responded with a brief message: “Thank you for your contributions.”
Yaccarino, a former advertising executive at NBCUniversal, was brought in during a critical period in 2023 to help restore relationships with advertisers who had fled over concerns about brand safety. Despite her experience, analysts have long questioned her real influence within the company, pointing to Musk’s dominant role in major decisions.
“Her background and actual authority positioned her more as the company’s chief advertising officer, rather than its CEO,” said Mike Proulx, vice president and research director at Forrester. “The reality is that Elon Musk is and always has been at the helm of X.”
Proulx added that her resignation was expected: “The only thing that’s surprising about Linda Yaccarino’s resignation is that it didn’t come sooner.”
