Musk faces another tech talent exit as X Ad chief quits

Elon Musk’s social media platform X (formerly Twitter) has lost another senior executive, as its global head of revenue operations and ad innovation, John Nitti, has resigned less than a year after joining the company. His resignation marks another exit from the billionaire’s team, sparking endless debates among individuals.

Nitti, who was appointed in January 2025, played a central role in shaping X’s advertising and monetization strategy during a critical period for the platform. He was once considered a potential successor to Linda Yaccarino as CEO. However, after careful consideration, he decided to depart on Friday, October 24, according to sources close to the situation. 

His exit marks the latest in a growing string of high-level departures across Musk’s businesses, including Tesla, SpaceX, and xAI.

The increased resignation from Musk’s company X raises endless debates

Advertising remains X’s largest revenue source, but it has struggled to recover since Musk’s 2022 takeover. Several advertisers paused spending amid concerns about looser content moderation and brand placement. While Musk has introduced subscription tiers and AI tools to diversify income, ad sales remain central to X’s financial health.

Yaccarino served as the CEO of X from mid-2023 until her resignation in July 2025. Since her departure, various leaders, including Angela Zepeda, the global head of marketing, and Nitti, who many industry experts believed could become the next CEO, were assigned to her role.

Regarding Nitti’s departure, sources familiar with the situation noted that his exit followed a series of senior resignations from the company. An example is Mike Liberatore, who served as xAI’s chief financial officer. Liberatore exited after three months during the summer. Soon after his departure, Robert Keele, the general counsel, resigned.

Notably, Musk’s artificial intelligence startup xAI obtained this social media platform X through an all-stock deal on March 28, 2025. 

Still, in early October, Mahmoud Reza Banki, the chief financial officer at X, who had served for less than a year, announced his withdrawal. At this point, individuals expressed concerns about the reason behind these exits.

To address these discussions, sources close to the situation suggested that the turnover illustrated the frustration of some executives regarding Musk’s sudden shifts in strategy and the challenges they faced in attaining goals due to their billionaire boss’s direct approach. 

Additionally, analysts pointed out that Musk’s advertising team has been under constant pressure to maximize profits. This has intensified as the billionaire invests billions in infrastructure and works to create superhuman AI to compete with rivals such as OpenAI and Google’s DeepMind. 

At the same time, the tech analysts also mentioned that advertisers have been discouraged by Musk’s decision to ease content moderation regulations. This promotes his “free speech” beliefs and his harsh response to marketers who disagreed with him.

Several sales chiefs express concerns over Musk’s business approach 

As more individuals adopt AI, the tech industry has undergone significant improvements. This has persuaded some brands to return, while xAI has recently signed media deals with companies including Disney. 

To attract more brands, the company has also informed them that its advertising performance is improving as a result of xAI’s AI technology, as stated in an earlier email.

Still, a few advertisers have privately raised concerns about being forced to spend money on X after the platform sued several brands, including Shell and Pinterest, for allegedly participating in an illegal boycott. When reporters asked the companies whether the claims were true, they denied those allegations.

On the other hand, an insider said that Nitti, a former Verizon executive, was among the sales chiefs who became fed up with Musk’s approach to managing the advertising business.

In the meantime, sources have identified that Musk became distracted only during the first half of the year by his involvement in Donald Trump’s administration, with whom he finally split this summer after a disagreement with the president.

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