Linda Yaccarino has resigned as CEO of X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, just over two years after being tapped by Elon Musk to lead the company through a dramatic overhaul.
Yaccarino, who previously served as head of global advertising at NBCUniversal, called her time at X “incredible,” praising the team and Musk’s vision for the company. She took the reins in May 2023, becoming the public-facing executive tasked with restoring advertiser confidence and turning X into what Musk dubbed the “Everything App.”
“When Elon and I first spoke of his vision for X, I knew it would be the opportunity of a lifetime,” Yaccarino said in a statement. “I’m incredibly proud of the X team—the historic business turnaround we have accomplished together has been nothing short of remarkable.”
Her resignation comes just one day after X’s AI chatbot Grok made headlines for generating posts that praised Adolf Hitler. While sources close to the situation say her exit was already in motion and unrelated to the AI incident, the timing has raised eyebrows.
Yaccarino emphasized progress made during her tenure, including the rollout of “Community Notes,” a crowdsourced fact-checking feature, and early work on “X Money,” a forthcoming payments platform. She also highlighted steps taken to bolster platform safety and rebuild trust with advertisers.
“We started with the critical early work necessary to prioritize the safety of our users—especially children—and to restore advertiser confidence,” she said. “X is truly a digital town square for all voices and the world’s most powerful culture signal.”
Under Yaccarino’s leadership, X faced intense scrutiny from global regulators. The European Union threatened the company with a $1 billion fine over alleged disinformation, and in Brazil, X was hit with a $5 million penalty following a legal fight between Musk and Brazilian authorities over speech policies on the platform.
Yaccarino’s departure marks another major leadership change at X as Musk continues to reshape the company’s identity and operations. No successor has been named yet, but X is expected to undergo further integration with Musk’s artificial intelligence initiative, xAI.
After two incredible years, I’ve decided to step down as CEO of ?.
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…
— Linda Yaccarino (@lindayaX) July 9, 2025