Muhammed Selim Korkutata / Anadolu Agency via Getty
It might take some sleepless nights to survive Elon Musk's Twitter takeover.
Esther Crawford, the Twitter manager who went viral for sleeping at Twitter's San Francisco headquarters last week, survived the mass layoff that took out about 50% of the social media company's staff on Friday, sources familiar with the matter from within the company told Insider.
As thousands of Twitter staff tweeted farewell to the company on Friday, Crawford gave an update on the company's plans for Twitter Blue — a service that would allow users to pay for verification and other features for $7.99 per month. Previously, the company had offered Twitter Blue for $2.99 per month as a service that would allow users to access special features like editing tweets or reducing ads.
"The new Blue isn't live yet — the sprint to our launch continues but some folks may see us making updates because we are testing and pushing changes in real-time," Crawford tweeted on Friday afternoon. "The Twitter team is legendary. New Blue… coming soon!"
—Esther Crawford ✨ (@esthercrawford) November 5, 2022
Crawford has been the director of product management at Twitter for nearly two years, according to her LinkedIn profile. The Information reported last week that the manager "appears to be rising in prominence" at Twitter since Musk completed his purchase.
Crawford did not respond to a request for comment from Insider ahead of publication.
But Crawford's apparent ability to weather the storm at Twitter points to a larger trend at the company and new expectations for productivity. Within days of the takeover, Musk eliminated "days of rest" at Twitter. He's also ordered people working on "Elon-critical projects," like getting a new subscription model for verification, to work "literally 24/7" and in 12-hour shifts, according to an internal memo seen by Insider's Kali Hays.
Musk has long been known for his high expectations for employees. At Tesla and SpaceX, workers are known to work grueling hours as the billionaire strives to hit lofty goals. The CEO has said in the past he has slept on Tesla's factory floor and worked 120 hour weeks to meet his targets.
Ultimately, Crawford's night at the office echoes Musk's goals for productivity.
"When your team is pushing round the clock to make deadlines sometimes you #SleepWhereYouWork," she tweeted on Wednesday.
—Esther Crawford ✨ (@esthercrawford) November 2, 2022
Since, Crawford has repeatedly tweeted her support for laid off "Tweeps." One departing employee called Crawford "the only person I know who could keep a team moving and shipping amid the chaos."
—Tony Haile (@arctictony) November 4, 2022
Additional reporting by Kali Hays.
Do you work for Twitter or have insight to share? Reach out to the reporter from a non-work email at gkay@insider.com
