Chapter 164

Musk assembles a strike team of young engineers—his cousins James and Andrew Musk, and their friend Ross Nordeen—to assess Twitter's codebase and identify which of the company's 2,500 engineers should be retained. After taking control on October 27, Musk executes a dramatic first round of layoffs on November 3, cutting approximately 50 percent of the global workforce and nearly 90 percent of some infrastructure teams.

James Musk, a 29-year-old software engineer from Tesla's Autopilot team who bears a striking physical resemblance to his cousin Elon, becomes the nucleus of a small group of loyalists coordinating three dozen engineers from Tesla and SpaceX sent to Twitter headquarters in late October 2022. James had grown up idolizing Elon, left South Africa at eighteen, and was "voluntold" by Elon to join the takeover effort despite personal plans. He is joined by his younger brother Andrew, a Neuralink software engineer, and Ross Nordeen, a Wisconsin native and wandering coder whom James had befriended years earlier on the French Riviera. The three musketeers are tasked with analyzing Twitter's entire codebase to evaluate the coding productivity and quality of over 2,000 engineers. Using Python scripts and assistance from Ben San Souci, a French Twitter engineer met serendipitously at a conference, they compile a list of which engineers merit retention. During an October 28 meeting, Musk articulates his vision: Twitter's 2,500 engineers produce far too little code and he plans to retain only about 150, mirroring his Autopilot team size. Though some advisors like lawyer Alex Spiro urge caution, warning of legal and operational risks, Musk is unmoved, seeking a hardcore culture willing to take risks. After brief delays due to HR concerns about diversity vetting and contract law implications, Musk executes the first round of layoffs on November 3, eliminating approximately 50 percent of the global workforce and close to 90 percent of some infrastructure teams, while also firing most HR managers. The firings are announced in an unsigned email and access is immediately revoked, marking the beginning of what the author notes is a three-round process.