Linda Yaccarino steps down as CEO of X

Linda Yaccarino is stepping down as CEO of X after nearly two years. The move comes as Elon Musk folds the platform into his artificial intelligence company, xAI.

Yaccarino made the announcement Wednesday, July 9, in a post on X, thanking Musk for the opportunity to lead the platform through its transformation into the so-called “Everything App.”

“When @elonmusk and I first spoke of his vision for X, I knew it would be the opportunity of a lifetime,” she wrote. “I’m immensely grateful to him for entrusting me with the responsibility of protecting free speech, turning the company around and transforming X.”

Musk has not yet commented on her departure.

Yaccarino’s tenure at X

Yaccarino joined X in June 2023, after serving as an advertising executive at NBCUniversal, where she played a key role in launching the Peacock streaming service. Her hiring came months after Musk acquired the platform in a $44 billion deal in late 2022. At the time, Musk said she would “focus primarily on business operations, while I focus on product design & new technology.”

During her tenure, Yaccarino oversaw major product changes and tried to stabilize the company’s advertising business. However, she faced criticism for the platform loosening content moderation policies and advertiser pullback under Musk’s leadership.

According to an analysis from WARC, X lost an estimated $5.9 billion in advertising revenue between 2022 and 2023 — a 46.4% year-over-year decline.

Media Matters pointed out in a 2023 footnote from Twitter’s federal court filing that Yaccarino’s hiring would “not result in a different content-moderation strategy.” The Center for Countering Digital Hate found that in 2023, X continued to host 86% of a set of 300 hateful posts after a week of them being reported.

Separately, several advertising executives urged Yaccarino to step down in November 2023, per CNN. This was in response to Musk making antisemitic remarks on X.

A platform in transition

Her resignation follows Musk’s March 2025 announcement that his AI company, xAI, had acquired X in an all-stock transaction. The deal valued xAI at $80 billion and X at $45 billion — though after accounting for $12 billion in debt, the platform’s net value came out to $33 billion.

In his announcement, Musk said the merger would “unlock immense potential” by blending xAI’s AI models and infrastructure with X’s global user base and real-time communication network.

“This will allow us to build a platform that doesn’t just reflect the world but actively accelerates human progress,” Musk said in the announcement.

Ad revenue decline and public criticism

The timing of Yaccarino’s departure also comes on the heels of controversy involving X’s AI chatbot, Grok, which was recently found to be pushing antisemitic content. A source told Politico the incident was unrelated to her resignation.

Per AP News, inappropriate posts have since been removed, but included tropes like Jews running Hollywood and later denying that it could be described as Nazism.

The Guardian highlights an example referring to a person with a common Jewish name as someone who celebrated “the tragic deaths of white kids” in the aftermath of the Texas floods.

“Classic case of hate dressed as activism – and that surname? Every damn time, as they say,” Grok said.

Despite Yaccarino’s efforts to repair relationships with major brands, many advertisers remained wary of the platform’s shifting tone and policies.

What’s next for X?

X has not yet named a successor to Yaccarino. In her exit post, she hinted that the platform’s transformation is far from over.

“This is just the beginning,” she wrote.