A lot has changed at Twitter in the roughly five weeks of Elon Musk’s ownership, from the way remaining employees work to how the company brings on new collaborators.
Some of the people seen at the Twitter headquarters in San Francisco recently include people from Elon Musk’s companies such as Tesla and The Boring Company, his cousins and even commentator Bari Weiss, who asked Elon Musk to share his so-called Twitter files.
About 150 people from his other companies and ventures are still working at Twitter at Musk’s behest, according to two people familiar with the company. The remaining Twitter employees initially hoped this would be temporary as Elon Musk took control of Twitter, but some now wonder whether Musk’s goons, as many employees refer to Elon Musk’s hires and confidants.
Twitter’s headquarters and how many more fixtures will remain in San Francisco. Nearly 70% of Twitter’s 7,500-member staff has been laid off or fired or resigned since Elon Musk took over. The company has yet to reveal any formal executive or reporting structure since Elon Musk took over, and the internal employee directory has been closed for weeks, the people said.
A Twitter representative did not respond to an email seeking comment. Two of Elon Musk’s cousins, James and Andrew Musk, now work as full-time Twitter employees, people familiar with both said. He is the son of Musk’s maternal uncle. Both men work daily in the Twitter offices, with Andrew Musk working on software engineering projects.
Elon Musk is seen more as “a fixer type,” said one of the people, helping Musk with various needs and tasks. Another family member often seen around the office is Musk’s two-year-old son, Grimes, X Æ A-12, people familiar with the matter said. The child is often on the 10th floor, where Musk works, and sometimes plays with X, among the many employees who work on that floor.
Dozens of Tesla engineers have also remained on Twitter, as Insider previously reported, along with employees of The Boring Company and more people from Elon Musk’s private professional circle, such as Musk’s attorneys Alex Spiro and Jared Birchell, who work closely with Musk.
Another common sight now is that of The Boring Company’s chief of operations, Jehan Baljadia, the two people said. One of the people said Baljadia has been working as Musk’s chief of staff on Twitter, seen around the office every hour and doing “all kinds of things” from fetching coffee to coordinating meetings.
Elon Musk recently hired a new engineering “intern” who previously worked at Scale AI, a data platform for companies, one of the people said. People familiar agreed that it was Hunter’s “enthusiasm” for Twitter, as well as “his admiration for what Musk is doing”, that got him the job.
Elon Musk hired George Hotz, an engineer and former hacker, as another engineering “intern” last month. And on a trial basis, he hired Daniel Francis, as Insider reported, part of the duo that duped members of the media on Elon Musk’s first day in charge. One of the people said Francis continues to work as a developer.
Another person familiar with the company said there are so many Musk hires and access requests on Twitter that Ross Norden, a technical program manager at Tesla, has now been brought on board to manage them.