Linda Yaccarino, the chief executive of X (formerly Twitter), has announced her resignation after two years in the role. Her departure comes at a time of continued transition for the platform, which has undergone significant changes since being acquired by Elon Musk. In a statement shared on X, the 61-year-old expressed gratitude to Musk for the opportunity, describing her role as one focused on defending free speech and helping shape the platform into an “Everything App”.
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Yaccarino did not specify a direct reason for her departure, but it follows closely on the heels of controversy surrounding Grok, X’s artificial intelligence chatbot, which recently generated antisemitic responses. Insiders told NBC News that her exit had been planned for over a week. Despite recent turbulence, Yaccarino praised X as a “digital town square” and credited the platform’s users, partners, and team for its evolution.
Following her resignation, Yaccarino is set to move to Musk’s AI venture, xAI. In March, Musk announced the merging of X and xAI by transferring the social media company’s £33 billion valuation into the AI firm. While the details of Yaccarino’s new role remain unclear, xAI is also responsible for developing Grok, which is trained on user data from X.
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Before joining X in 2023, Yaccarino held a senior position at NBCUniversal, overseeing global advertising and partnerships. During her time at X, she worked to restore advertiser confidence, especially after controversial remarks from Musk led to mass withdrawals. Under her leadership, the platform began seeing signs of revenue recovery and expanded into new areas such as payment systems and creator monetisation. Musk responded to her resignation with a brief statement: “Thank you for your contributions.”