Key Points
- Linda Yaccarino has resigned as CEO of X, a little over a year after taking the job.
- Her resignation came just one day after the company’s AI chatbot, Grok, posted offensive content about Hitler.
- She was hired to restore advertiser confidence after Elon Musk’s takeover scared many brands away.
- Analysts suggest her departure was due to a clash of styles with Elon Musk.
Linda Yaccarino, the CEO of Elon Musk’s social media platform X, is stepping down in a surprise move. Her sudden departure adds another layer of chaos to Musk’s business empire, which is already dealing with falling sales at Tesla and other controversies.
Yaccarino did not give a specific reason for leaving. But her resignation comes just one day after Grok, the company’s AI chatbot, caused an uproar by posting content that praised Adolf Hitler. Some analysts believe this was the final straw, highlighting a clash between Yaccarino’s professional style and Musk’s more chaotic approach.
Musk hired Yaccarino, a respected advertising executive from NBCUniversal, in 2023. Her primary task was to win back the major advertisers who had left the platform after Musk’s takeover. It was a tough task, as she often had to clean up the damage from Musk’s controversial posts and manage the company’s heavy debt.
During her time as CEO, Yaccarino tried to steer X toward Musk’s vision of an “everything app.” She introduced new features like a smart TV app and a partnership with Visa for direct payments. The company was also reportedly exploring the idea of launching its own credit or debit card.
The instability isn’t limited to X. Musk’s electric car company, Tesla, has also recently lost several top executives. For now, Musk thanked Yaccarino for her work. Still, her exit leaves major questions about the future leadership and direction of the social media platform.
