I agree, seems short-sighted - they could have even just started charging a bit for it to keep it alive if necessary.
No surprise though, after a fantastic start, twilio has turned into a sh*t company, unfortunately - I was a very early adaptor of many of their tools and services, and 1 by 1, they have all gone downhill.
They should have sold the company while it still had a decent reputation, at this rate there will be nothing of worth left.