Extremely Hardcore

Outline

Extremely Hardcore (2024) tells the inside story of Twitter after Elon Musk bought the company in 2022. Drawing on interviews with employees, Zoë Schiffer describes mass layoffs, sudden policy changes, the launch of paid verification, and the transformation of Twitter into X. The book is a vivid case study in leadership, company culture, and what happens when a major platform changes almost overnight.

• Zoë Schiffer reports Twitter's first months under Elon Musk from the inside, using interviews with employees who lived through them.
• The book describes mass layoffs and sudden policy changes, and the strain they put on the people who stayed.
• It covers the launch of paid verification and the company's transformation from Twitter into X.
• It works as a case study in leadership and company culture when a major platform changes almost overnight.

Zoë Schiffer is an American technology journalist who covers Silicon Valley, workplace culture, and the tech industry. She reported closely on Twitter’s changes for the newsletter Platformer, where she was managing editor, and later joined Wired. Extremely Hardcore is her first book.