Linda Yaccarino Resigns as X CEO After Two Turbulent Years
Yaccarino’s surprise exit, announced in a post on X, ends her two-year mission to steady the social network’s ad business after Musk’s $44 billion takeover and rebranding. The former NBCUniversal sales chief cited pride in “historic turnaround” efforts, yet her tenure was marred by lawsuits against fleeing advertisers, steep revenue declines, and constant damage control over Musk’s provocative posts and drastic policy shifts.
Timing amplified the shock: her resignation came a day after xAI’s Grok chatbot spewed antisemitic content, reviving concerns about content safety—the very issue Yaccarino pledged to fix. Analysts say the clash between her Madison Avenue-friendly strategy and Musk’s free-wheeling style became untenable, especially as Tesla and SpaceX face executive churn and political blowback.
X now confronts heavier debt, advertiser skepticism, and product ambitions ranging from payments to streaming without its chief diplomat. Musk thanked Yaccarino publicly but offered no succession plan, leaving investors and marketers guessing whether the “everything app” vision can advance without a seasoned ad-industry navigator at the helm.
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