X Head Of Product Claims Company Operates With Skeleton Crew Of 30, Elon Musk Clarifies

Nikita Bier, the head of product at X (formerly Twitter), recently sparked a viral debate after claiming the company operates with a skeleton crew of just 30 people. Bier made the revelation while explaining why X removed its dim mode after a user raised the issue. Bier said his team lacked the bandwidth to maintain multiple colour themes.

"We don't have the capacity to support more than two colours right now. But feedback noted: we are looking into lightening the black on web," explained Bier.

We don't have the capacity to support more than two colors right now. But feedback noted: we are looking into lightening the black on web.

— Nikita Bier (@nikitabier) February 12, 2026

After a user called out Bier for the explanation, he doubled down by comparing X's workforce to industry giants, noting that while Meta, Microsoft, and Google employ hundreds of thousands, X relies on a tiny core team. 

"Team Size Meta: 87,000 Microsoft: 221,000; Google: 190,000; X: 30," highlighted Bier, further clarifying the breakdown of this group as a mix of engineers, two designers, and "1.5 product managers".

Team Size

Meta: 87,000
Microsoft: 221,000
Google: 190,000
…
X: 30 pic.twitter.com/G2nvR55ENd

— Nikita Bier (@nikitabier) February 12, 2026

As users questioned how a global platform could function with such a barebones staff, Elon Musk joined the conversation to provide context. Musk clarified that while the core product team is lean, they are supported by approximately 30 engineers from xAI who focus specifically on AI-driven recommendations.

There are another 30 or so xAI engineers working on the pure AI-based recommendation system

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 12, 2026

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In 2022, just a week after Musk bought X in a $44 billion deal, he sacked half of its 7,500-strong staff as part of a major overhaul campaign. The billionaire claimed that there was no other choice when the company was losing over $4 million per day. By 2023, Musk claimed that the total headcount was down to 1,500, meaning 80 per cent of the company's staff was fired.

Since then, Musk has radically overhauled X by bringing in new monetisation and verification policies to make X a hub of content creation, akin to YouTube.