Chapter 181

Musk clashes with Twitter infrastructure managers over relocating servers from Sacramento, demanding a 30-day timeline instead of their proposed 6-9 months. When they resist, he impulsively diverts his plane to Sacramento on Christmas Eve and leads an improvised "heist" to manually move server racks, enlisting family and colleagues in a chaotic but ultimately successful three-day operation that moves over 700 racks.

On December 22, Musk meets with two Twitter infrastructure managers who explain that a Sacramento data-center facility must vacate its $100+ million-per-year lease due to concerns about Twitter's financial viability. The managers insist relocation to Portland requires 6-9 months of careful planning. Frustrated, Musk demands completion in 30 days, then 90 days, then threatens to accept resignations when they cite technical constraints around rack density and power requirements. Dismissing their explanations as "bullshit," he demands videos of the server centers by the next day. On December 23, while flying to Austin with his brothers James and Andrew, Musk complains about the move. James suggests doing it immediately, and Musk impulsively orders the pilot to divert to Sacramento. With the help of Alex, a Twitter staffer, they access the facility housing 5,200 server racks. Using a pocket knife to pry open floor panels and jimmy an electrical cabinet, Musk demonstrates that moving the servers is feasible. On Christmas Eve, he mobilizes reinforcements: Ross Nordeen purchases $2,000 worth of AirTags and $2,500 in tools; Steve Davis arranges semi trucks and moving vans; SpaceX employees join the effort. They load four racks onto a truck before NTT executives halt operations. Musk calls the CEO, refutes claims about pressure limits with simple math, and agrees to a two-day ceasefire but warns operations will resume December 26. On Christmas Eve, Musk joins his family—Kimbal, Christiana, and his sons—in Boulder. Kimbal expresses serious concern that Elon is spinning out of control, making enemies rapidly, and neglecting Tesla as CEO. Kimbal criticizes his late-night tweets, including the Paul Pelosi post (which Musk admits was a mistake from an unreliable source) and Fauci tweet. Elon discusses his sons' academic achievements and potential roles at Twitter; Kai considers leaving high school. The family exchanges gifts and reflects on regrets; Elon acknowledges frequently sabotaging himself. After Christmas, James and Andrew return to Sacramento. Using Yelp, they find cheaper movers (Extra Care Movers) and deploy unconventional tactics: offering cash bonuses, making PayPal payments, buying padlocks and spreadsheets of combination codes instead of wiping servers before transport. They move over 700 racks in three days, far exceeding the facility's previous monthly record of 30. Musk initially promises James up to $1 million as a bonus; after learning no servers were operational in Portland due to missing electrical connections, Musk revises to $1,000 per rack safely arrived, totaling approximately $700,000, plus a stock option package. James plans to use the bonus to bring his South African family to visit and buy his parents a home. The chapter notes this success masked recklessness: Twitter lacked redundancy across facilities as Musk believed, and the shutdown caused two months of instability, including outages during a Ron DeSantis Twitter Spaces. Musk later admitted the Sacramento closure was a mistake. On New Year's Eve, Musk vacations at Larry Ellison's estate in Lanai, Hawaii, where he views Mars through a new telescope and tells his young son X he will live there someday. He then travels to Cabo San Lucas with Grimes, X, and his family. After celebrations and watching Demolition Man, Musk returns to his characteristic intensity, staring into the distance before telling Christiana he must focus on getting Starship into orbit.