Musk-owned X's CEO Yaccarino to step down in surprise move

Elon Musk-owned X's CEO Linda Yaccarino said on Wednesday she would step down from the role in a surprise move, just months after the social media platform was acquired by the billionaire's AI startup, xAI.

Her departure adds to the turbulence in Musk's sprawling business empire, including falling sales at his EV maker Tesla and AI-related controversies. Musk is also embroiled in a war of words with former ally President Donald Trump.

Yaccarino did not give a specific reason for her decision. X and Yaccarino did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The resignation comes just one day after Grok, the AI chatbot developed by xAI, posted content referencing Adolf Hitler on the platform. The posts were later deleted following a public backlash.

"We started with the critical early work necessary to prioritize the safety of our users — especially children, and to restore advertiser confidence," Yaccarino said in a post on X.

Musk thanked Yaccarino for her contributions in a reply to the CEO's post on X.

"Linda Yaccarino's abrupt departure may be a result of a lack of fit between her approach and Elon Musk's style," said Gil Luria, analyst at D.A. Davidson.

"This may have come to a head when the embedded AI chat Grok started responding to AI posts in an increasingly offensive manner yesterday."

In March, Musk's AI startup xAI acquired the social media platform in a $33 billion all-stock deal.

Tesla is also dealing with an exodus of top executives. The billionaire's confidant at Tesla, Omead Afshar, and North America HR Director Jenna Ferrua left the company last month, sources told Reuters.

Tesla shares slipped about 1% on the news, but then clawed back some lost ground.

Yaccarino took the top job in 2023 to help Musk transform the company after he bought it in a $44 billion deal.

Prior to becoming the CEO of X, Yaccarino spent several years modernizing the ad business of Comcast's NBCUniversal.

The social media platform is dealing with a heavy debt load, and Yaccarino has had to often deal with controversies stirred up by Musk, including his endorsement of antisemitic conspiracy theories in late 2023.

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The company later sued numerous advertisers and an advertising group, alleging they colluded to deny X ad dollars.

Under Yaccarino, X introduced a range of new features aimed at turning the social media site into the "everything app" that Musk aimed for, including partnering with Visa to offer direct payment solutions and launching a smart TV app.

The company was also exploring rolling out an X credit or debit card, the Financial Times reported last month.