Linda Yaccarino, former CEO of X (formerly Twitter), has stepped down after a two-year tenure. Her resignation on July 10, 2025, adds to a growing list of high-profile executive departures from companies owned by Elon Musk. At least 14 top officials from Tesla, SpaceX, and X have left in the past year amid rising political and organizational challenges.
In another major leadership shakeup for Elon Musk’s business empire, Linda Yaccarino has stepped down as the CEO of X (formerly Twitter), a social media platform owned by Musk. Her departure marks yet another high-profile resignation, taking the total number of executive exits across Musk-led companies to 15 within a year.
After two incredible years, I’ve decided to step down as CEO of X. I’m immensely grateful to Elon Musk for entrusting me with the responsibility of transforming X into the Everything App.”
Linda Yaccarino
Yaccarino joined X in June 2023 after serving as Chair of Global Advertising and Partnerships at NBCUniversal Media. Her leadership at X followed Musk’s turbulent acquisition of Twitter and its rebranding to X, marked by massive layoffs, policy changes, and controversial public stances.
While Yaccarino did not specify a reason for her exit, it comes amid ongoing challenges at X and other Musk-owned firms like Tesla and SpaceX, including rising political interference and intense scrutiny.
Executives Who Quit Musk-Owned Companies in the Last Year
According to Fortune, the following leaders resigned recently:
- Omead Afshar – Former Head of Sales, Tesla (June 2025)
- Jenna Ferrua – Director of HR, Tesla (June 2025)
- Milan Kovac – Head of Optimus Robot Team, Tesla (June 2025)
- Vineet Mehta – Head of Battery Architecture, Tesla (May 2025)
- Mark Westfall – Head of Mechanical Engineering, Tesla Energy (April 2025)
- Brett Weitz – Global Head of Content at X (June 2025)
- David Lau – VP of Software Engineering, Tesla (April 2025)
- Dave Heinzinger – Head of Media Strategy at X (March 2025)
- Haofei Wang – Head of Product Engineering at X (March 2025)
- Tom Ochinero – VP of Commercial Business at SpaceX (Feb 2024)
- Nick Pickles – VP of Global Affairs at X (Sept 2024)
- Renato Leite Monteiro – Global Data Protection Officer at X (Sept 2024)
- David Zhang – Roadster & Cybertruck Program Manager, Tesla (July 2024)
- Joe Benarroch – Head of Operations at X (June 2024)
These exits highlight a trend of instability across Musk’s tech enterprises, as political entanglements and controversial management practices take center stage.
