Linda Yaccarino steps down from Elon Musk’s X : NPR

Linda Yaccarino, CEO of X, formerly Twitter, during a commercial exhibition in Las Vegas on January 7, 2025. Yaccarino announced on Wednesday that it moved from X after two years from the social media platform.

Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty Images

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Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty Images

Linda Yaccarino, who was hired two years ago as X Director of X, said on Wednesday that she left the social media platform.

Its sudden exit occurs one day after Xai, the artificial intelligence startup of Musk which was merged with X, made an anti -Semitic rant and praised Hitler, causing a generalized denunciation.

Yaccarino did not quote the reason for his departure in her post announcing that she was leaving the company.

“When @elonmusk and I spoke for the first time about his vision of X, I knew that it would be the occasion for a life to carry out the extraordinary mission of this business.” I will encourage you all when you continue to change the world. “

Yaccarino, a traditional business manager, was in many ways a striking sheet for Musc Mercurial and controversial, which turned out to be a difficult boss.

“She thought she could shape Elon. But ultimately, the man will do what the man will do independently of good advice, and therefore, she probably did not have as successful as she had hoped,” said Lou Paskalis, another director of advertising and longtime friend of Yaccarino, at NPR.

It has become the public face of X’s advertising activity, this is how most of the platform revenues are generated. And she went to Washington as a representative of X, putting pressure on online children’s safety laws. At X, she was forced to defend Musk several times for two bumpy years.

“Thank you for your contributions,” Musk wrote In Yaccarino on X. Musk and X did not respond to requests for comments.

Musk typed Yaccarino, an experienced advertising director in Nbcuniversal, for a tumultuous period for X.

After the billionaire buying the site formerly known as Twitter at the end of 2022, around 80% of the staff was reduced, the previously prohibited users were restored and far -right personalities adopted the site.

As she was hired, Yaccarino was considered a judicious choice, considered as a stabilization force that could help bring back the advertisers who fled the platform on the changes implemented.

In her executive role at Nbcuniversal, she supervised world advertising and partnerships, she therefore had experience and know-how to conclude agreements with major brands.

But the musk, over and over again, has tested its courage.

Six months after his mandate, his boss went on stage at the New York Times Dealbook conference and was asked about advertisers who had stopped spending on the platform. Musk responded with several blasphemies.

“What is going to do is that it will kill the business, and the whole world will know that advertisers have killed the business,” said Musk on stage, accusing advertising companies of having tried to “blackmail”.

Paskalis, Yaccarino’s friend, was disturbed by the episode. He had told Yaccarino to separate with Musk several times to preserve his reputation.

He was not surprised, he told NPR on Wednesday that she had stayed on board for two years.

“A challenge like this is a mechanical bull that she will never let go. She is wired to win,” said Paskalis. “But it was configured to fail from the first day because [Musk] didn’t want to change his behavior, “said Paskalis.