Linda Yaccarino abruptly steps down after two years as CEO of X
In a post, Linda Yaccarino, whose departure comes just months after the platform was acquired by the billionaire's AI startup, xAI, said: 'When Elon Musk 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 with the responsibility of protecting free speech, turning the company around, and transforming X into the Everything App.'
She did not give a reason for her unexpected departure. Musk replied to her post, thanking her for her contributions to the company formerly known as Twitter.
The resignation comes just a day after Grok, the AI chatbot developed by xAI, posted content referencing Adolf Hitler on the platform. The posts were later deleted after a public backlash.
Yaccarino, 61, who was previously head of advertising at NBC Universal, has had to deal with controversies stirred up by Musk, including his endorsement of antisemitic conspiracy theories in late 2023.
'Linda Yaccarino's abrupt departure may be a result of a lack of fit between her approach and Elon Musk's style,' Gil Luria, an analyst at DA Davidson, a financial services firm, said. 'This may have come to a head when the embedded AI chat Grok started responding to AI posts in an increasingly offensive manner yesterday.'
Under Yaccarino, X also 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.
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