New blow for Elon Musk as X chief executive Linda Yaccarino quits

Musk already facing falling global sales at his EV maker Tesla and embroiled in war of words with US President Donald Trump

Elon Musk-owned social platform X's CEO Linda Yaccarino said on Wednesday she would step down from the role, in a surprise move. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

Elon Musk-owned social platform X's CEO Linda Yaccarino said on Wednesday she would step down from the role, in a surprise move.

Her exit comes at a difficult time for Mr Musk, who is dealing with falling sales at his EV maker Tesla and is embroiled in a war of words with US President Donald Trump.

Ms Yaccarino did not give a specific reason for her decision. X and Ms Yaccarino did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

She took the top job in 2023 to help Musk transform the company after he bought it in a $44bn (€37.5bn) deal.

Prior to becoming the CEO of X, Ms Yaccarino spent several years modernizing the ad business of Comcast's NBCUniversal.

The social media platform is dealing with a heavy debt load, and Ms Yaccarino has had to often deal with controversies stirred up by Mr Musk, including his endorsement of antisemitic conspiracy theories in late 2023.

The company later sued numerous advertisers and an advertising group, alleging they colluded to deny X ad dollars.

In March, Musk's AI startup xAI acquired the social media platform in a $33bn (€28bn) all-stock deal.

Its chatbot Grok removed what it called "inappropriate" social media posts on Tuesday after complaints from X users and the Anti-Defamation League that Grok produced content with antisemitic tropes.

On Wednesday, Polish authorities planned to report  xAI to the European Commission after Grok made offensive comments about Polish politicians, including Polish prime minister Donald Tusk.

Issues of political biases, hate speech and accuracy of AI chatbots have been a concern since at least the launch of OpenAI's ChatGPT in 2022.

Grok removed what it called "inappropriate" social media posts on Tuesday after complaints from X users and the Anti-Defamation League that Grok produced content with antisemitic tropes and praise for Adolf Hitler.

A Turkish court earlier blocked access to some content from Grok after authorities said the chatbot generated responses insulting President Tayyip Erdogan, modern Turkey's founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and religious values.

Reuters