Linda Yaccarino, CEO of X, formerly Twitter, at a trade show in Las Vegas on Jan. 7, 2025. Yaccarino announced Wednesday that she is stepping down from X after two years running the social media platform.
Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images
hide caption
toggle caption
Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images
Linda Yaccarino, who was hired two years ago as chief executive officer of X, said on Wednesday she was stepping down from the social media platform.
Her sudden exit comes a day after xAI, Musk’s artificial intelligence startup that has been merged with X, went on a antisemetic diatribe and praised Hitler, prompting widespread denunciation.
Yaccarino did not cite a reason for her departure in her post announcing that she was leaving the company.
“When @elonmusk and I first spoke of his vision for X, I knew it would be the opportunity of a lifetime to carry out the extraordinary mission of this company. I’m immensely grateful to him for entrusting me,” she wrote on X on Wednesday. “I’ll be cheering you all on as you continue to change the world.”
Yaccarino, a traditional business executive, was in many ways a strong foil to the mercurial and controversy-courting Musk.
She became the public face of X’s advertising business, which is how most of the platform’s revenue is generated. And she went to Washington as X’s representative, pushing for online child safety laws. At X, she was forced to repeatedly defend Musk through a bumpy two years.
“Thank you for your contributions,” Musk wrote to Yaccarino on X. Musk and X did not respond to requests for comment.
Musk tapped Yaccarino, a seasoned advertising…