Inside Linda Yaccarino’s rocky two-year stint as X CEO under Elon Musk — and the deal that forced their breaking point 1/2
By Published July 14, 2025, 10:05 a.m.
Linda Yaccarino’s resignation from X as chief executive marked the end of a high-pressure — and at times emotional — two-year stint that insiders described asriddled with stress, conflict and power struggles, according to a report.
At times, Yaccarino was reportedly tearful in the office, worn down by the overwhelming demands of working under Elon Musk and the increasing pressure surrounding her role, the Financial Times reported over the weekend.
Yaccarino had claimed in an interview just three weeks before stepping down that “I’m the CEO of X and my boss remains the same.”
But last Wednesday she announced her departure,citing X’s merger with Musk’s AI venture xAI as a turning point and calling it a “new chapter” for the company.
Multiple people who worked with both Yaccarino and Musk saidthe two were fundamentally mismatched.
“Sheryl [Sandberg] found the rhythm with Mark [Zuckerberg]. Linda couldn’t find the rhythm with Elon,” one source told FT, referring to the former chief operating officer of Meta’s relationship with the CEO.
Their contrasting styles — Yaccarino’s polished advertising world background versus Musk’s unfiltered, hands-on leadership — clashed repeatedly.
“Elon calls all the shots,” an advertising executive who knows both Yaccarino and Musk told FT.
“She tried to ride the tiger but was thrown off.”
Another person added, “He did not dig her style as a shiny, flashy Madison Avenue executive. He wants to have an authentic conversation and not be bullsh–ted.”
A breaking point reportedly came early last year, when Yaccarino helped secure a content deal with former CNN anchor Don Lemon.
The arrangement backfired after Lemon conducted a contentious interview with Musk, asking if he used drugs. Musk canceled the deal, and Lemon is now suing for breach of contract.
The internal tension and lack of authority reportedly took an emotional toll. Multiple people who worked with Yaccarino said she was “at times being tearful in the office.”
One former colleague told FT: “She lasted two years in a job that would have crushed most people in two weeks.”
Though she managed to lure back some major advertisers like Apple, Google and Verizon, many in the industry questioned the sustainability and strategy behind the return.
“To her credit, she did get advertisers back to X,” one longtime executive told FT.“She did it with a gun, but they came back.”
Another added,“They did not return voluntarily or happily.”Others criticized the platform’s underperformance.
“Many clients don’t advertise on X, not because of the content, but because it does not perform very well,” one executive told FT.
Sensor Tower reported some renewed ad strength, and Emarketer projected a revenue increase to $2.3 billion in 2025 — still far below the $4.1 billion in global sales before Musk’s takeover.
The Post has sought comment from X, Yaccarino and Musk.
Yaccarino’s priorities sometimes diverged from Musk’s, particularly around child safety— a concern she reportedly believed Musk was not focused on enough, according to FT.
She ultimately informed a small circle ahead of time about her resignation, which happened to coincide with xAI’s chatbot Grok publishing antisemitic content, FT reported. X staff said the two events were unrelated.
Yaccarino’s challenges began as soon as she took the job in 2023, leaving NBCUniversal to help repair the damage Musk’s $44 billion takeover of the platform had inflicted on advertiser relations.
https://nypost.com/2025/07/14/business/inside-linda-yaccarinos-tumultuous-tenure-at-x-under-elon-musk/