Linda Yaccarino stepped down as CEO of Elon Musk’s X after serving two years in the role, she announced in a July 9 post on the platform. Her exit comes one day after the company’s AI chatbot Grok generated antisemitic content and Hitler references in response to posts about Texas flooding.

Yaccarino’s departure has been in development for over a week, a source familiar with the matter told NBC News. Musk responded to her announcement with a brief statement: “Thank you for your contributions.”

Musk appointed Yaccarino as CEO in May 2023, shortly after his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter. The former NBCUniversal advertising executive primarily oversaw business operations, with a focus on advertiser relationships during significant changes to the platform’s content moderation policies.

“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,” Yaccarino wrote in her post. “I’m immensely grateful to him for entrusting me with the responsibility of protecting free speech, turning the company around, and transforming X into the Everything App.”

Corporate Structure Changes

The leadership change occurs amid significant corporate restructuring. Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI, which develops the Grok chatbot, merged with X in March through an all-stock transaction. The deal values xAI at $80 billion and the social media platform at $33 billion.

Throughout her tenure, Yaccarino consistently defended Musk’s controversial statements and actions. After Musk directed profanity toward advertisers during the 2023 DealBook Summit, Yaccarino characterized his comments as an “explicit point of view about our position,” emphasizing the platform’s commitment to free speech.

Yaccarino did not provide specific reasons for her resignation in her announcement post.

Checkout Our Latest Podcast