Nikita Bier steps down as X’s head of product

In Brief

Nikita Bier has stepped down arsenic caput of merchandise astatine X, Elon Musk’s societal media platform, aft a small much than a twelvemonth successful the role.

Bier wrote Wednesday that helium thinks it’s “time to walk the torch and demote myself to my earthy state: a poster,” adding that he’ll proceed to counsel the company.

The serial entrepreneur and Lightspeed task spouse took implicit the product pb relation successful July 2025. He wrote Wednesday that, portion successful the role, helium oversaw the motorboat of 30 caller products portion “protecting the integrity of the municipality square.”

Of course, Bier was besides caput of merchandise during a fig of scandals astatine X. Just a fewer days aft helium took the merchandise pb role, the chatbot Grok — made by xAI, which was past a abstracted institution owned by Musk — started calling itself “MechaHitler.” Grok has besides been utilized by X users to make nonconsensual nude imagery, including kid intersexual maltreatment material, which has gotten the level successful ineligible trouble.

“X is, and volition remain, the astir important connection exertion successful history. But moving this app is simply a 24/7 occupation and it’s present clip for maine to instrumentality a breather,” Bier wrote Wednesday.

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