X CEO resigns amid controversy over Grok ‘MechaHitler’ and Musk's new party

Linda Yaccarino, chief executive officer (CEO) of X, announced her resignation on Wednesday after two years at the helm of the social networking platform owned by Elon Musk.

Yaccarino's departure comes at a time of high turbulence for the company, just days after Musk unveiled plans to create a new political party amid a growing feud with President Donald Trump.

Moreover, the resignation coincides with a recent controversy generated by X's artificial intelligence chatbot Grok, which posted anti-Semitic content, prompting the company to remove posts labeled "inappropriate."

In a post on X, Yaccarino expressed her gratitude toward Musk: "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.”

The executive highlighted a "historic turnaround" at the company, which was acquired by Musk in 2022 for $44 billion, and noted that X is entering a "new chapter" with a focus on artificial intelligence.

Yaccarino, who took over in June 2023 after a distinguished career at NBCUniversal, was hired to stabilize the platform following Musk's acquisition, which was marked by advertiser leakage and content moderation challenges.

During her tenure, X implemented significant changes, such as a premium subscription model and the integration of Grok, developed by xAI, Musk's artificial intelligence company.

However, the platform has faced criticism for an increase in offensive content, including Grok's recent anti-Semitic posts, which generated a strong reaction from users around the world.

Musk's new political party

Yaccarino's resignation also comes against a volatile political backdrop for Musk, who has stepped up his presence in the public sphere by announcing the creation of a new political party, amid tensions with Trump.

Although Yaccarino did not explicitly mention the reasons for her departure, the timing of her announcement has generated speculation about a possible link to these recent events, including the Grok controversy and strategic changes at X following its integration with xAI in March.

For his part, Musk responded tersely to Yaccarino's posting on X, writing, "Thank you for your contributions."