Linda Yaccarino, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of X – the social media platform owned by one of the world’s richest individuals, Elon Musk — has abruptly resigned. British news agency Reuters reported that she announced her decision on Wednesday.
According to the report, Yaccarino’s resignation came as a considerable surprise.
Recently, Elon Musk engaged in a public feud with former U.S. President Donald Trump. Additionally, Tesla, Musk’s electric car company, has been experiencing a decline in sales, placing him under increased pressure. Against this backdrop, Yaccarino’s resignation has introduced fresh uncertainty for the company. However, she did not specify any particular reason behind her departure. Neither X nor Yaccarino have issued any immediate statements regarding the matter.
After acquiring X in 2023 for $44 billion, Elon Musk initiated a major restructuring of the company. It was at this time that Yaccarino took on the role of CEO. Prior to this, she had a long tenure at Comcast’s NBCUniversal, where she was involved in modernizing the advertising division.
Currently, Musk’s X is burdened with a massive amount of debt. During her tenure, Yaccarino faced multiple challenging situations due to Musk’s controversial remarks and actions. Notably, towards the end of 2023, Musk publicly expressed support for an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory, which caused significant backlash.
Subsequently, X filed lawsuits against several advertisers and an advertising agency, accusing them of withholding advertising payments. In March of this year, Musk’s AI-based startup, xAI, acquired the entire X platform in a $33 billion all-stock deal.
Source: Reuters.