Linda Yaccarino has officially stepped down as CEO of X. The announcement, made Wednesday on Yaccarino’s X account, comes at a moment of renewed scrutiny for the company, just hours after its AI chatbot, Grok, was deactivated due to antisemitic behavior.
“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 posted. “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.” Elon Musk responded simply: “Thank you for your contributions.”
Yaccarino, who joined in mid-2023 from NBCUniversal where she led global advertising and partnerships, was brought in largely to stabilize advertiser relationships that had faltered following Musk’s takeover. But her tenure was marked by repeated challenges – including high-profile advertiser boycotts, Musk’s public outbursts, and lawsuits against watchdog groups and brands. Despite the controversies, advertising spend on X has recovered somewhat, most likely due to her own efforts to stabilize the platform.
Data from ad intelligence firm Guideline shows U.S. ad spend was up 62% year-over-year in the first half of 2025. Yaccarino claimed in May that 96% of advertisers that had left the platform had later returned. However, the long-term health of X’s revenue model remains uncertain. Subscriptions like X Premium make up only a small slice of income, and broader monetization strategies – including a payments platform – have yet to materialize, but X’s goal of becoming the “everything app” could be the planned solution to these problems.
With no successor announced, it’s unclear who will step up as CEO, if anybody, although it’s likely that either Musk or Mahmoud Reza Banki (the CFO) could double up on the role in the interim.
