To: @elonmusk
From: Linda Yaccarino
Re: My resignation
July 9, 2025
I hereby tender my resignation as C.E.O. of X (formerly known as Twitter), effective immediately.
The two years that I have held this position have flown by, much in the same way time flew by for Christ as he hung on the cross.
You brought me on at X to restore confidence in the brand, especially among advertisers, who were fleeing the platform faster than Diddy’s friends fled him once word of the freak-offs leaked out. It seems most corporations don’t want to be associated with hateful speech and anti-Semitic language, both of which surged immediately following your purchase of Twitter.
Mine was not an easy task. I’ll let others decide which made it more difficult: your ending a speech with the Nazi salute; your Grok chatbot praising Hitler and advocating for people of “certain surnames” to be rounded up, stripped of their rights, and eliminated; or your overall, ketamine-fueled, dickish behavior.
Nevertheless, I take great pride in knowing that my tenure at X lasted 729 days longer than Don Lemon’s employment as an X podcast host, which lasted only one day.
I made many friends during my time at X, though not nearly as many as I lost. Telling people I worked for you as head of X received the same warm reaction I suspect Ghislaine Maxwell gets when she tells folks she used to work for Jeffrey Epstein. The damage to my personal brand has been so bad that all the journalists who call the company “X, formerly known as Twitter,” have started calling me “Linda Yaccarino, formerly known as a well-respected executive.”
It’s unclear what exciting challenge lies ahead for me. After taking the summer off, I will begin exploring my opportunities, though it promises to be a difficult road. I’m told the job market is flooded with highly qualified individuals, including the 6,000 employees you fired from Twitter and the tens of thousands you and your DOGE bros fired from the federal government.
Perhaps something in agriculture or the hospitality industry. I hear jobs are plentiful in both since the ICE deportation roundups commenced.
Elon, I’ll never forget my time at X, though I’ll certainly try. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to have lunch with Kara Swisher.
John Ficarra is a former editor of Mad magazine
