Linda Yaccarino may have one of the toughest jobs in Silicon Valley. As CEO of Elon Musk's X Corp, the former NBCUniversal executive faces two equally challenging tasks: saving the crumbling social media business and making his boss look good. In an on-stage interview at CES in Las Vegas this week, Yaccarino was asked questions from CBS reporter Catherine Herridge about his relationship with Musk.
First, Herridge asked if Yaccarino had any discussions with Musk about his work with the Department of Government Operations (DOGE), a newly created agency within the incoming Trump administration to reduce government operations and promote business activity. DOGE will be chaired by Musk and businessman and politician Vivek Ramaswamy.
Without directly answering the question, Yaccarino expressed his support for Musk's political candidacy. “Elon is a visionary, and there is no better person to set a vision and course for others to be inspired and follow,” he said. “Regarding DOGE, I can imagine that it will appear again identifying government waste and inefficiency is beneficial to all of us, and I don't think there are two better people than Elon and Vivek to do that.”
The American people, Yaccarino added, must “all participate” for the “great success of the DOGE,” predicting that the group will be “one of the great unifiers that will unite this country.”
Musk's close relationship with the President-elect has raised controversy and speculation about his potential conflict of interest. over influencing government policies that could benefit many of his businesses, especially Tesla (TSLA) and SpaceX. Pressing him further, Herridge asked Yacarrino if he expected Musk to use X to “advance his government efficiency goals.” Answering the question again, Yaccarino discussed Musk's outspokenness on social media and how his openness reflects his role as an arbiter of free speech.
“We should encourage all business leaders, all government leaders, to do the same thing and share more, not less,” stressing that everyone should be open to sharing their thoughts and their lives to “encourage” others.
After stroking Musk's ego, Yaccarino finally discussed X's advertising business, which has declined significantly since Musk took ownership of the platform. He said the platform will do twice on Trend Genius, a feature that allows advertisers to combine the launch of marketing campaigns with trends on X in real time, in an effort to benefit from the activity of more users and generate more ad revenue. IX will continue to build its NFL sports portal, providing a central location for users to engage and view competitive statistics in American football games. “Every corner, there is growth,” said the CEO.
CES wasn't Yaccarino's first time defending Musk. After the billionaire's controversial interview at the New York Times' DealBook Summit in November 2023, he accused advertisers of pulling ads from the effort “blackmail” to him, Yaccarino sent a memo to X employees calling the interview “clear and thorough.”
Musk tapped Yacarrino to lead X in June 2023. She previously served as vice president of global advertising and partnerships at NBCUniversal for 12 years.
