Linda Yaccarino, CEO of X and former NBCUniversal executive, takes the spotlight in a riveting interview. She addresses tough questions about Elon Musk's controversial decisions, including potential subscription fees and recent layoffs in their election integrity team. Yaccarino shares insights on user metrics and promises profitability in 2024, while also facing criticism from former trust and safety head Yoel Roth. The conversation navigates the platform's evolving role in advertising and the complex dynamics of leadership at X.
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question_answer ANECDOTE
Chuckle and Change
Linda Yaccarino chuckled when asked about Yoel Roth's comments on her safety.
She emphasized the change in company direction since Roth's time.
insights INSIGHT
Content Growth
Content posting on X has increased despite efforts against spam and bots.
This contradicts claims of a 75% decline.
insights INSIGHT
Engagement Data Discrepancy
Despite Elon Musk’s claims of high engagement, app usage data suggests a decline.
App downloads are down, and X ranks lower than other platforms.
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Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future
Ashlee Vance
This book is an authorized biography that delves into the life of Elon Musk, from his tumultuous childhood in South Africa to his rise as a visionary entrepreneur in Silicon Valley. Ashlee Vance captures Musk's journey through his various ventures, including PayPal, SpaceX, Tesla, and SolarCity. The book examines Musk's unique personality, his insatiable drive, and his ability to thrive through hardship. It also explores the broader context of American innovation and the challenges of global competition, positioning Musk as a contemporary amalgam of legendary inventors and industrialists like Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and Steve Jobs.
Today, we have a special episode for you. The Code Conference wrapped up this week, and the finale included a rare interview from my Code co-host and CNBC correspondent Julia Boorstin with X CEO Linda Yaccarino. To say the sit-down with Elon Musk’s No. 2 was confrontational would be an understatement.
Yaccarino appeared both unprepared to answer tough questions and very combative, especially when asked about comments from former trust and safety head Yoel Roth, who’s become an outspoken critic of the direction of the company since Elon took over. Roth spoke onstage at Code with Kara Swisher just an hour before, where he warned Yaccarino of the risks of the job and spoke about the extreme harassment he’s faced since leaving the company.
Yaccarino also gave us some updated stats on X user metrics and claimed the company would turn a profit in 2024. And of course, there were some very terse exchanges concerning whether Elon really plans to start charging a subscription fee to use the platform, if he seriously plans to sue the Anti-Defamation League, and the company’s recent cuts to its election integrity team. It’s a jaw-dropping interview, and you really have to listen to the whole thing.
Credits:
Decoder is a production of The Verge and is part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.
Today’s episode was produced by Kate Cox and Nick Statt. It was edited by Callie Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Our Editorial Director is Brooke Minters and our Executive Producer is Eleanor Donovan.
Decoder with Nilay Patel 