Elon Musk on Wednesday unfollowed a string of prominent figures on X, including several close allies of President Donald Trump, just hours after Linda Yaccarino announced her resignation as CEO of the social media platform. While it remains unclear if the two events are directly connected, the timing has raised eyebrows given Musk’s history of public breakups and shifting alliances.
Yaccarino’s departure, though abrupt, comes at a time when Musk’s public rifts – with both political and business associates -have grown increasingly visible. His bromance with Trump has unraveled into a messy and very public feud, while tensions inside X have only added to the turmoil.
Just hours after announcing her resignation from Elon Musk’s social media platform X, Linda Yaccarino reshared a post on the site that praised her efforts to defend free speech.
Yaccarino confirmed her exit in a surprise announcement on X, calling the decision as her own, despite Musk’s past record of abruptly parting ways with top executives.
Musk’s unfollowing spree included top Trump supporters such as House Speaker Mike Johnson, former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, Rapid Response 47, Congressman Jim Jordan, and Congresswoman Nancy Mace. He also unfollowed Fox News without offering any explanation.
Musk’s inclination to clash publicly has not been limited. Over the years, he has sparred with a wide range of figures, from tech moguls to politicians to even members of his own family. His opposition to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) has been a consistent theme, but the breadth of his feuds is striking.
Musk and Trump’s relationship has swung between camaraderie and confrontation. Trump once called Musk a “bullsh** artist” over the stalled Twitter deal, prompting Musk to suggest Trump should “sail into the sunset.”
Trump retaliated with insults, but Musk ultimately acquired Twitter and reinstated Trump’s account—though Trump continues to avoid the platform.
In the recent move, Musk turned critic over Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” warning it could bankrupt America. Trump, in turn, said Musk had “lost his mind,” deepening the divide between the two.
The split became sharper when Musk, then serving as co-head of the Department of Government Efficiency, slammed Trump’s signature spending bill as “insane.”
Musk’s long-running rivalry with Mark Zuckerberg dates back to 2014, when Zuckerberg invited him to discuss AI and Musk dismissed Facebook as depressing.
The feud escalated when a SpaceX rocket destroyed a Facebook satellite and Musk deleted his companies’ Facebook pages amid the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The rivalry later took a bizarre turn when Meta launched Threads, sparking talk of an actual cage fight. Zuckerberg’s response: “Send Me Location.”
The world’s two richest men, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, have clashed over many things – most notably, their shared obsession with space exploration. As biographer Walter Isaacson noted, both visionaries were driven by the goal of building reusable rockets and approaching space as a “missionary rather than a mercenary” pursuit.
The rivalry took a personal turn when Musk gave Bezos a tour of SpaceX’s offices but later grew irritated after not receiving a reciprocal invitation to visit Bezos’ Blue Origin headquarters. Their dinner that evening reportedly didn’t help matters, with Musk offering unsolicited advice that rubbed Bezos the wrong way.
Their competition escalated into a battle over leasing a NASA launchpad – one that Musk won when SpaceX secured the lease. When SpaceX successfully landed a craft, Bezos congratulated Musk with a pointed remark: “Welcome to the club!”
But Musk ultimately had the last laugh. NASA selected SpaceX over Blue Origin for its next moon landing project – a decision Bezos legally challenged but failed to overturn.
Musk later said that his jabs at Bezos are meant to push him to do more: “In some ways, I’m trying to goad him into spending more time at Blue Origin, so they make more progress.”
Musk has also taken aim at Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI and his former colleague. Referring to Altman as “Scam Altman,” Musk has accused him of corporate betrayal.
Musk filed a lawsuit against OpenAI last year for fraud, breach of contract, and fiduciary duty, seeking to halt the company’s operations and claim damages. Altman, for his part, told Bloomberg that Musk is “not a happy person.”
Yaccarino’s exit now adds to the growing list of names left behind in Musk’s wake.
Also Read: Linda Yaccarino Resigns as CEO of Elon Musk-Owned X After Two-Year Stint
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
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