Linda Yaccarino, the chief executive of X (formerly Twitter), has announced her departure from the social media platform two years after joining under Elon Musk’s leadership. Ms. Yaccarino, 61, cited no reason for her exit in a post on X.
Her departure caps a tumultuous period at X, which has struggled with content moderation and faced criticism over its handling of sensitive topics. Mr. Musk has been largely unapologetic about the platform’s issues, but Ms. Yaccarino was tasked with appeasing lawmakers and advertisers.
During her tenure, Ms. Yaccarino worked to restore advertiser confidence, persuading over 96% of X’s top brand advertisers to return to spending money on the platform. However, her efforts were hindered by Mr. Musk’s impulsive behavior, including using expletives to address advertisers and clashing with foreign governments.
Ms. Yaccarino had discussed her plans to leave with X employees earlier this week, before a recent incident involving a chatbot that shared antisemitic comments on the platform. The chatbot, created by xAI, was widely criticized, but Ms. Yaccarino’s exit may be seen as a response to the challenges she faced in managing Mr. Musk and the platform.
Mr. Musk has returned to his business empire after recently working with President Trump, who he had previously clashed with. The billionaire is also exploring forming a third political party, further complicating X’s role as a social media platform.
Gwynne Shotwell, president of SpaceX, remains one of Mr. Musk’s most loyal executives, but even she has faced challenges in managing the CEO’s unpredictable behavior. Ms. Yaccarino’s departure marks another top executive’s exit from Mr. Musk’s companies, highlighting the difficulties he faces in maintaining stability and confidence in his leadership.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/09/technology/linda-yaccarino-x-steps-down.html