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Elon Musk’s X has cut nontechnical roles as it reshapes operations around cost control, revenue growth, and closer ties with affiliated companies. The changes come as attention grows around SpaceX’s possible IPO plans and X’s own push into payments, financial tools, and product redesign.
X has removed several nontechnical roles in recent weeks, including marketing roles and other positions deemed to overlap with work elsewhere in Musk’s business network. Angela Zepeda, who had served as X’s chief marketing officer since September 2024, also left the company last month, people familiar with the matter said.
The layoffs came as X continued to try to improve efficiency after broader corporate integration moves. Staff who remain at the company have also been directed to focus more closely on revenue growth, especially as advertising recovery stays limited.
US ad revenue at X is expected to reach $1.27 billion in 2026, while global ad sales are projected at $2.19 billion. Those figures remain below the $4.51 billion in ad revenue Twitter reported in 2021, before Musk took the company private.
The workforce changes at X follow broader restructuring across Musk-linked businesses. X merged with xAI last year, while xAI and SpaceX were later combined in early February.
That process has also affected xAI internally. Several co-founders have announced their departures, while some teams have been reorganized. One example involves the vision team working on video generation for Grok.
At the same time, xAI brought in Jon Shulkin as chief revenue officer. Shulkin is also a partner at Valor Equity Partners, a longtime Musk investor. He has been tasked with helping improve revenue performance across both X and xAI, which trail rivals in advertising and enterprise AI sales.
Speculation about X’s financial plans increased after Musk named Benji Taylor as the design lead at X. Taylor previously held product and design roles associated with Aave and Coinbase’s Base network. That background led several crypto market commentators to connect the hire to X Money and possible digital asset features.
Some crypto-focused figures said the appointment pointed to plans beyond a standard payments product. Their comments linked Taylor’s background to ideas such as wallets, on-chain payments, and DeFi tools, though X has not confirmed any full crypto rollout.
Taylor said, “It is an honour to lead the design department at X.” He added that he saw X as “the most important platform in the world.” Nikita Bier, X’s head of product, also said the two had joined forces after months of discussion.
X Money is expected to launch publicly in April and is already in internal beta testing. The service has been described as a hub for financial activity, with features such as peer-to-peer fiat transfers, yield on balances, and market data tools.
Bier has also discussed smart cashtags, which would connect tickers to live prices and mentions on the platform. He later said X would not execute trades itself. Instead, the focus is on building financial data tools and links inside the timeline.
At the same time, Musk has continued adjusting core platform features. His past remarks about removing or limiting the block feature drew attention as X continued facing debate over moderation, user safety, and advertiser confidence. These changes show X is still being reshaped across staffing, product design, and financial services.
