X runs on a team of 30, product head reveals

X's product team operates with just 30 core members, according to Nikita Bier, the company's head of product, in a recent post on X.

Bier made the revelation while explaining why X recently removed its dim mode feature. "We don't have the capacity to support more than two colours right now," he wrote, adding that the team is looking into lightening the black on the web. In a follow-up reply, Bier compared X's team size to industry rivals: "Meta: 87,000, Microsoft: 221,000, Google: 190,000 … X: 30." He also posted open roles for engineers in Palo Alto, stating that "there is no communication overhead here."

After users on X questioned how a global platform could function with such a small team, Elon Musk joined the conversation on X to clarify. In a reply, he stated that approximately 30 engineers from xAI, his artificial intelligence company, work on X's AI-based recommendation system, supporting the core product team.

Musk originally purchased Twitter in 2022 for about $44 billion and subsequently reduced its workforce from around 7,500 employees to roughly 1,500 by 2023, representing an estimated 80% cut. Since taking control, he has overhauled the platform, rebranding it as X and introducing new monetisation and verification systems as part of a broader shift towards subscriptions and creator-focused content.