BASTROP, Texas: In a surprising turn at Elon Musk's X platform, CEO Linda Yaccarino announced she is stepping down, just months after Musk's AI venture, xAI, acquired the company.

The move comes amid mounting pressure on the platform over content moderation and advertiser confidence.

Yaccarino, 61, announced in a post on X, suggesting it was her personal choice. "I've decided to step down as CEO of X," she wrote. Elon Musk responded, "Thank you for your contributions."

The timing of her exit adds to the growing instability in Musk's empire. Tesla is facing executive departures and declining sales, while X has struggled to win back advertisers wary of the platform's direction under Musk's ownership.

A longtime advertising executive and former chair of global advertising and partnerships at NBCUniversal, Yaccarino was brought in two years ago to help repair X's image and get back brands. That job only grew more complicated following the controversial takeover by xAI, which has amplified concerns about harmful content on the platform.

Her resignation came just a day after xAI's chatbot Grok posted antisemitic content on X, prompting public outrage. Yaccarino responded by vowing to restore advertiser trust and focus on platform safety.

While she worked to court marketers, she also took an aggressive legal approach, suing some advertisers and the World Federation of Advertisers, accusing them of colluding to block ad revenue from X.

Analysts believe her departure may reflect a fundamental mismatch with Musk's management style. "This may have come to a head when the embedded AI chat Grok started responding to AI posts in an increasingly offensive manner yesterday," said Gil Luria of D.A. Davidson.

Jasmine Enberg, VP at Emarketer, noted the difficulty of Yaccarino's role: "Yaccarino had to try to run the business while also regularly putting out fires." Still, with signs of a possible ad recovery in 2025, she added, "She accomplished what she was hired to do."

X has not named a successor, and it's unclear when Yaccarino's resignation will take effect.

The shake-up is the latest in a string of high-level changes tied to Musk. At Tesla, close associate Omead Afshar and HR chief Jenna Ferrua recently exited. Musk, who briefly served in Trump's cabinet earlier this year, has been juggling multiple leadership roles across his companies.

Under Yaccarino's watch, X made several moves toward becoming Musk's envisioned "everything app." It launched a smart TV app, partnered with Visa for payment services, and reportedly explored rolling out its own credit or debit card.

However, with a heavy debt burden and ongoing controversies—including Musk's endorsement of antisemitic conspiracy theories in late 2023—X remains under pressure. Yaccarino's exit is yet another signal of the platform's continued volatility.