A crista is a fold of the inner mitochondrial membrane into the mitochondrial matrix. Its membrane remains continuous with the surrounding inner mitochondrial membrane; it is not a separately inserted sac like a thylakoid.[ref]
Molecular Biology of the Cell, 4th edition by Bruce Alberts and others. Chapter 12, The Transport of Proteins into Mitochondria and Chloroplasts, Figure 12-22: continuity of cristae and contrast with thylakoids
The diagram idealizes access through the fold's opening. Connectivity alone does not imply instant mixing or identical concentrations throughout the intermembrane space. Narrow geometry and molecular interactions can matter to transport. Increasing surface area also does not, by itself, prove a proportional increase in ATP production: the supply of substrates, available oxygen and the state of the coupling machinery must also support the flux.
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