Linda Yaccarino steps down as CEO of X
Linda Yaccarino had one of the toughest jobs in tech. She was brought over from NBCUniversal by Elon Musk to offer some stable leadership after his chaotic acquisition of Twitter, and to convince fleeing advertisers to stay on the troubled platform (as Musk was swearing at them).
Today, Yaccarino announced her departure on the platform she tried to tame after two tumultuous years.
After two incredible years, I’ve decided to step down as CEO of 𝕏.
— Linda Yaccarino (@lindayaX) July 9, 2025
When @elonmusk and I first spoke of his vision for X, I knew it would be the opportunity of a lifetime to carry out the extraordinary mission of this company. I’m immensely grateful to him for entrusting me…
When Yaccarino was hired, Musk said she would focus on business operations while he would work on product design and technology (while also running Tesla, SpaceX, and his other companies).
But Yaccarino’s indefatigable boosterism of X was always overshadowed by Musk’s mercurial pronouncements. Her tenure saw the social media platform expand into something like the “everything app” that Musk has frequently described, though much of that work remains unfinished.
Yaccarino’s greatest achievement was to lure back major advertisers who jumped ship after Musk’s offensive posts started to sink the platform. Apple, Comcast, Disney, and IBM all returned to X under Yaccarino’s tenure, which may have saved the platform from a death spiral.
But the next person to take the role will have plenty of other controversies to deal with.
After two incredible years, I’ve decided to step down as CEO of 𝕏.
— Linda Yaccarino (@lindayaX) July 9, 2025
When @elonmusk and I first spoke of his vision for X, I knew it would be the opportunity of a lifetime to carry out the extraordinary mission of this company. I’m immensely grateful to him for entrusting me…
When Yaccarino was hired, Musk said she would focus on business operations while he would work on product design and technology (while also running Tesla, SpaceX, and his other companies).
But Yaccarino’s indefatigable boosterism of X was always overshadowed by Musk’s mercurial pronouncements. Her tenure saw the social media platform expand into something like the “everything app” that Musk has frequently described, though much of that work remains unfinished.
Yaccarino’s greatest achievement was to lure back major advertisers who jumped ship after Musk’s offensive posts started to sink the platform. Apple, Comcast, Disney, and IBM all returned to X under Yaccarino’s tenure, which may have saved the platform from a death spiral.
But the next person to take the role will have plenty of other controversies to deal with.
