Linda Yaccarino was blindsided by Elon Musk's tweet announcing he had found a new Twitter CEO, and had to leave a meeting to tell her boss she was joining Twitter

• Elon Musk's tweet announcing he had found a new Twitter CEO came as a surprise to Linda Yaccarino.
• The then-NBC executive had to rush out of a meeting to explain the situation to her boss, the FT reported.
• Her chaotic departure stunned NBC, with one executive comparing it to the "Cuban missile crisis."

Linda Yaccarino's reign as Twitter boss got off to a chaotic start after she was blindsided by Elon Musk's tweet announcing he had found a new CEO, according to a new report.

The Financial Times reported that Yaccarino was in the middle a meeting making tweaks to her planned remarks for NBCUniversal's annual advertiser showcase when Musk tweeted that he had "hired a new CEO for X/Twitter. She will be starting in ~6 weeks!"

Although she had told Musk she'd take the job that morning, Yaccarino had little idea that Musk would make any sort of public announcement, the FT reported, adding that she not yet arranged her departure from NBC and had told Musk she needed several weeks to do so.

The then-chairman of global advertising was forced to dash out of rehearsals and speak to Comcast president Michael Cavanagh to explain the situation, according to unnamed sources cited by the Financial Times.

Cavanagh accepted her explanation but decided to release a statement announcing Yaccarino's departure the next day. Yaccarino ultimately started her new job two weeks earlier than planned.

Yaccarino's sudden departure caused carnage at her NBCUniversal, with one advertising executive previously telling Insider that the move "couldn't have happened at a worst time" and comparing the situation within the company to the "Cuban missile crisis."

The chaotic announcement was the first taste of what Yaccarino could expect as CEO of Twitter, which Musk renamed X in a surprise rebrand months after she joined.

The long-time media executive told the Financial Times that she was excited to join the company and work with Musk, but admitted that the pressure and "relentless public scrutiny" of the role had weighed on her.

"While I did have a very outward facing or high-profile role in my last job, certainly the intensity is very different. That hits big," she said.

X did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider, made outside normal working hours.