Elon Musk’s leadership style has long attracted ambitious executives, but just as often, it repels them. Linda Yaccarino, once brought in to stabilize X (formerly Twitter), has now joined the swelling list of senior figures walking away from the Musk machine.
According to internal reports and corporate filings, Yaccarino is at least the 15th top executive to resign from one of Musk’s companies over the past year, spanning Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink, and X. The wave of departures is sparking questions about sustainability, morale, and long-term leadership at the heart of Musk’s $1 trillion business empire.
A Pattern of Power Consolidation
While Musk’s reputation as a visionary is unchallenged, insiders describe his operating style as intensely centralized, with most strategic decisions flowing through him alone. “There’s no true second-in-command,” one former executive told Millionaire MNL. “You’re either doing what Elon wants or you’re out.”
Yaccarino, a veteran media executive from NBCUniversal, was seen as a stabilizing force when she became CEO of X. But sources suggest that despite her public front, her role was largely ceremonial, with major content, monetization, and platform decisions still handled by Musk.
An Exodus Across Musk’s Empire
Here’s a snapshot of the high-profile exits:
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Tesla: Former CFO Zachary Kirkhorn, Senior VP of Engineering Drew Baglino, and several Autopilot team leaders.
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SpaceX: Multiple mission leads and launch directors, many of whom had been with the company for over a decade.
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Neuralink & The Boring Company: Several researchers and department heads have left amid growing skepticism about project feasibility.
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X: Top safety, policy, and sales executives have resigned, often after conflicts with Musk’s push for unmoderated speech and aggressive cost cuts.
Each exit chips away at institutional memory and managerial depth, raising red flags about execution in fast-moving industries like AI, defense, and automotive.
Loyalty vs. Longevity
Musk’s companies continue to attract top talent with the promise of building the future, but retaining them has proven difficult. As mentioned by Millionaire MNL, the tension between Musk’s breakneck pace and traditional corporate structures is not new, but its impact is mounting.
“People join because they believe in the mission,” one former exec noted. “They leave when they realize the mission has one voice.”
