Famed tech conference ignites debate thanks to Twitter exec drama

An awkward interview at a tech conference became the latest flashpoint in the saga of San Francisco-based X — formerly known as Twitter — on Wednesday. It also launched a heated online debate about how journalists should hold executives to account.

The Code conference, an annual fest co-founded by journalist Kara Swisher that’s known for interviews with high-profile tech leaders, ran Tuesday and Wednesday at a Southern California Ritz-Carlton.  

The drama circled around Linda Yaccarino, the former NBC ad executive who landed in one of the industry’s strangest leadership positions when she was named CEO of the Elon Musk-owned social media firm in May. She was set to speak onstage on the second day of the conference but was alerted that morning that she’d be joined in the lineup by Twitter’s former head of trust and safety team, Yoel Roth.

The organizers’ decision to slot Roth’s interview before Yaccarino’s with minimal notice sparked accusations of unfairness from media watchers, which led to Swisher staunchly defending the move. 

The setup of Roth’s interview before Yaccarino’s added contrast and tension to the event, as Roth has had a strained history with Twitter. He publicly resigned from the company last November, following layoffs and policy changes made by Musk. Then, shortly afterward, Musk made the baseless allegation that Roth might condone pedophilia, and the former exec was reportedly forced out of his home by the subsequent death threats. 

In the Wednesday interview, Swisher asked Roth if he had any advice for Yaccarino about working with Musk. “If not for yourself, for your family, for your friends, for those that you love, be worried,” he reportedly replied. “You should be worried. I wish I had been more worried.” He also questioned X’s claims about lessening hate speech, according to Vox. 

About an hour later, according to the Wall Street Journal, Yaccarino took the stage to be interviewed by CNBC’s Julia Boorstin. Outlets have called the exchange “awkward” and “tense,” with Boorstin pressing the CEO on company metrics and referring to speculation that Yaccarino is “CEO in name only.” Yaccarino replied: “Not nice,” according to the Journal, and dropped the surprising claim that the company will be profitable next year.

At one point in the conversation, Yaccarino reportedly said, “Who wouldn’t want Elon Musk sitting by their side running product?” and a portion of the crowd burst into laughter.

In the interview’s aftermath, reactions to Roth’s “surprise” addition to the lineup and his conversation’s placement before Yaccarino’s interview rolled in. Axios business editor Dan Primack said on X that he thought Yaccarino was “sandbagged” and speculated that it would be more difficult for Code to book future speakers — a claim that San Francisco doom narrativist Jason Calacanis echoed. Swisher also said in a response that she had invited Roth a week before the appearance and offered Yaccarino that day to appear before him in the lineup. 

“Imho: finding out the day of the event is being sandbagged, particularly when you’ve been on the program for months,” Primack wrote in a follow-up. He also emphasized that he thought the interview itself was reasonable.

Musk did not share that perspective, insulting the conversation on X by saying, “Kara should take it easy on the Adderall — foaming at the mouth is just not a good look.”

In response to the criticism, Swisher defended the conference and its scheduling decisions. She said that she’d surprised a CEO with a conflicting viewpoint on the docket in the past, and they had coped. 

Swisher is a Silicon Valley staple who has long managed to land interviews with — and scoops about — high-profile tech leaders who rarely make themselves available to the press. She’s taken criticism for a perceived flip-flop this year on the long-controversial Musk, but on Wednesday, she cast herself as a face of fair journalism, writing, “Is making CEOs all comfy my job? It is not.”

“Heat meet kitchen,” Swisher wrote. “Only suck ups to power, minions to moguls and those not interested in the truth but only access and proximity to wealth worry about not getting that next interview.”

Got a tip about X or another tech company? Contact tech reporter Stephen Council securely at [email protected] or on Signal at 628-204-5452.