Linda Yaccarino, the C.E.O. of X, has worked hard to bring back advertisers and fix the platform’s business. But its owner, Elon Musk, is always one whim away from undoing her work.
Late last year, Linda Yaccarino reached out to Don Lemon’s agent with an offer.
Ms. Yaccarino, the chief executive of X, a powerhouse advertising executive who had been hired away from NBC about seven months earlier, pitched the agent on bringing the former CNN anchor’s new web-based show to the social media platform, citing its massive reach, political influence and connections with advertisers. Soon after, Mr. Lemon became one of the first high-profile names to sign onto Ms. Yaccarino’s plan to help save the company’s sagging advertising business with video and TV-like programming.
Elon Musk, who owns X, agreed to be Mr. Lemon’s first guest.
The interview was held at the Tesla headquarters in Austin, Texas, which, Mr. Musk quickly pointed out to Mr. Lemon, was “about three times larger than the Pentagon.” The two men sat on white Eames-like swivel chairs, a small white table between them. Mr. Musk was in a black T-shirt, Mr. Lemon in a white spread-collar shirt and a dark blue sweater.
The interview started out awkwardly, with Mr. Musk acknowledging that he hadn’t really watched Mr. Lemon when he anchored a 9 p.m. show on CNN. (“I’ve seen a few segments.”) It grew increasingly contentious over the next hour, and Mr. Musk became visibly frustrated with questions about his politics and drug use. “It’s pretty private,” Mr. Musk said when Mr. Lemon asked him about his prescription for ketamine, which Mr. Musk had posted about on X in 2023.
Mr. Lemon brought up complaints of sexual harassment at Tesla and SpaceX, both run by Mr. Musk, then asked if he had advantages in society as a white man. Mr. Musk raised an eyebrow. “You keep putting words in my mouth,” he objected. And when Mr. Lemon asked about the advertiser exodus from X, Mr. Musk shook his head: “Don, I have to say, choose your questions carefully. There’s five minutes left.” As the interview ended, Mr. Musk shot up from his chair, offering an abrupt handshake to the anchor.
The next day, he texted Mr. Lemon’s agent: “Contract canceled.”
A day after Mr. Musk called off the deal, Ms. Yaccarino called Mr. Lemon to find out what went wrong. She seemed confident she could patch things up between him and her boss. But Mr. Musk remained firm; Mr. Lemon had to be dismissed. The deal died — and with it, yet another attempt by Ms. Yaccarino to chart a profitable course for the troubled site.