Linda Yaccarino stepped down as the CEO of X on Wednesday evening after two years at the helm. The surprise move came hours after AI chatbot Grok heaped praise on Adolf Hitler and shared antisemitic tropes while responding to users. The Elon Musk-led platform had subsequently taken action to “ban hate speech before Grok posts on X”. Yaccarino did not provide a reason for her resignation — but opined that “the best is yet to come as X enters a new chapter with” Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI.
“After two incredible years, I’ve decided to step down as CEO of X. 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 wrote in a lengthy social media message.
AI chatbot Grok had sparked outrage on Tuesday after emerging as a vocal advocate of Adolf Hitler and reiterating antisemitic tropes while responding to users. The responses came hours before Elon Musk-led xAI was slated to release its latest model of the artificial intelligence chatbot. Meanwhile Turkish authorities also imposed an access ban on Grok on Tuesday after the bot posted vulgarities against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, his late mother and other eminent personalities.
The former advertising executive had joined the company in 2023, months after Musk took over as CEO. Yaccarino had often found herself dealing with controversies stirred up by the billionaire businessman — including his endorsement of antisemitic conspiracy theories in late 2023. The social media platform has also been dealing with a heavy debt load and other issues during this time.
“We started with the critical early work necessary to prioritize the safety of our users—especially children, and to restore advertiser confidence. This team has worked relentlessly from groundbreaking innovations like Community Notes, and, soon, X Money to bringing the most iconic voices and content to the platform. Now, the best is yet to come as X enters a new chapter with xAI,” Yaccarino reiterated.