Musk will lead the US government's efficiency department. Will he lay off 90% of employees like he did at Twitter?
Let's go back to 2014, when Peter Thiel, a well-known technology tycoon, made a scathing comment on Twitter on CNBC, calling it "terribly managed." He even hinted that "marijuana is rampant" at Twitter, and that the company had become addicted to something else. This statement caused an uproar, and the then Twitter CEO only responded with a joke tweet about Doritos potato chips.
Perhaps Thiel's words are not groundless. In 2011, the famous rapper Snoop Dogg visited Twitter headquarters and held an impromptu marijuana party inside the company. This event became an extreme embodiment of Silicon Valley's "work hard, play hard" culture. Many people have linked this culture to Twitter's gradual predicament: by 2021, Twitter faced a loss of $221 million, stagnant user growth, and became increasingly vulnerable to fierce competition from TikTok and Instagram.
Musk appears on the scene, and Twitter is undergoing a major transformation
In 2023, Musk purchased Twitter for $44 billion, shocking the world. Faced with external doubts, Musk did not hesitate, but quickly launched a series of bold reforms - the first step was to lay off a large number of employees, reducing the company's size from 7,500 to 2,000. This decision made many people worry that Twitter would never recover, but the result was unexpected: Twitter's user activity was not only not affected, but increased.
This is because Musk seems to have applied Parkinson's Law, a management concept: work will expand to fill all available time. By reducing the number of people, Musk forced Twitter employees to be more focused and efficient, and bureaucracy and lengthy meetings were minimized, greatly improving work efficiency.
Renamed "X": Musk's blueprint for a super app
Twitter's transformation is not limited to layoffs. Musk renamed it "X" to better fit his vision of building a "super app." He integrated payment functions, video calls, artificial intelligence and other services into the platform, trying to make X the "WeChat of the West."
In addition, Musk also made a subversive reform to Twitter's authentication system. After launching the "Twitter Blue" paid blue label service, anyone can get authentication by paying a fee. This move caused a lot of controversy, but it also brought two key changes:
It brings in new revenue streams and reduces reliance on volatile advertising revenue;
Making user participation “gamified” increases interactivity.
As the number of monthly active users has grown to more than 500 million and user engagement continues to rise, the "Musk effect" has been fully demonstrated.
AI and cultural reshaping: Musk’s dual driving force
Musk is well aware of the potential of data and artificial intelligence. He used the huge amount of data on the X platform to train the latest AI models and integrated the self-developed Grok chatbot into the platform, making X the forefront of AI testing. This move not only brought technological breakthroughs to the platform, but also gave it unlimited possibilities for future development.
However, Musk's reshaping of Twitter's culture may be one of his most controversial changes. He canceled remote work and emphasized a "hardcore" work culture that required employees to be fully committed. This high-pressure environment may seem harsh, but it has formed a highly self-motivated "X-Men" team within the company. This change has become the driving force behind X's success.
The rapid rise of X: The triumph of one piece of data
Musk’s drastic reforms have brought significant results: Daily video views on the X platform increased by 45% to 8.2 billion times, and the growth rate of Generation Z users exceeded that of Instagram. At the same time, users spend 26% more time watching ads on X than on other platforms. These achievements were achieved with less than 10% of the original employees. It must be said that Musk's efficiency improvement strategy is very effective.
Now Musk is about to take charge of the US government...
Today, the success story of X platform in efficiency and innovation makes people wonder whether Musk will adopt similar radical reforms when he is appointed as the leader of the "United States Government Efficiency Department"? Will he "cut" the redundant bureaucracy in the government and even boldly lay off 90% of the staff?
Whatever the answer, Musk’s transformation of X undoubtedly provides a thought-provoking case for global corporate management.