“Does this spark joy?” So asked the famed Japanese consultant Marie Kondo as a way of thinking about decluttering crowded living spaces. The best way to know what “sparks joy,” Kondo said, is to feel the item in your hand, and then know whether you feel uplifted just by that simple act.
Billionaire Elon Musk took that mindset to the next level when he finally arrived at Twitter in October. He had spent months trying to walk back the deal. Then, rumors swirled over whether the Tesla and SpaceX owner would cut employees, as he was known for running hard pressed, spartan crews at his other companies. It was only when Musk finally had the social media company in his hands, rolling it around his palms and squeezing it like a stress ball, did he cut an estimated 3,700 people, or somewhere around 50% from his global workforce, evidentially finding not much that “sparked joy.”
Now comes the aftermath. Twitter is looking to offload some of its “surplus” office assets, including everything from an oversized wood blue bird statue to a large, barista-scale expresso machine. On the page being hosted by the auction house Heritage Global Partners, there are quite a few wooden lounge and rocking chairs going on sale with starting bids at just $50. There also seems to be a lot of kitchen equipment, including multiple refrigerators and even a vegetable dryer, which would be useful for a large staff, if—indeed—Twitter still had that many employees left.
Musk does owe quite a few major financial institutions and big name investors quite a lot for his $44 billion Twitter purchase, though a representative for HGP told Fortune that the auction “has nothing to do with [Twitter’s] financial situation.” He further told the outlet “if anyone genuinely thinks that the revenue from selling a couple computers and chairs will pay for the mountain there, then they’re a moron.”
Fair enough, since even if each of the 966 lots going on sale each went for an astronomical $1 million, that would still put Musk $43.69 billion in the red. Gizmodo reached out to Twitter to ask why these items were going on auction, but we did not hear back.
Still, it does beg the question of what does a company with many fewer employees need with all that stuff? Musk had already converted several of his San Francisco headquarters old conference rooms into motel-style bedrooms. City officials at the building inspection department have publicly said they would investigate whether the Twitter HQ is legally allowed to have bedrooms inside its working space, something Musk himself found particularly aggravating as he called out city Mayor London Breed for going after “companies providing beds for tired employees instead of making sure kids are safe from fentanyl,” as if the city buildings department is also in charge of drug policy.
The auction is set to begin Jan. 17 next year, though beware that buyers are responsible for arranging their own shipping. Even though most are meant for companies to bid, we listed are just a few of the most interesting offerings Twitter’s downsized company is letting loose on the world.
“Does this spark joy?” So asked the famed Japanese consultant Marie Kondo as a way of thinking about decluttering crowded living spaces. The best way to know what “sparks joy,” Kondo said, is to feel the item in your hand, and then know whether you feel uplifted just by that simple act.
Billionaire Elon Musk took that mindset to the next level when he finally arrived at Twitter in October. He had spent months trying to walk back the deal. Then, rumors swirled over whether the Tesla and SpaceX owner would cut employees, as he was known for running hard pressed, spartan crews at his other companies. It was only when Musk finally had the social media company in his hands, rolling it around his palms and squeezing it like a stress ball, did he cut an estimated 3,700 people, or somewhere around 50% from his global workforce, evidentially finding not much that “sparked joy.”
Now comes the aftermath. Twitter is looking to offload some of its “surplus” office assets, including everything from an oversized wood blue bird statue to a large, barista-scale expresso machine. On the page being hosted by the auction house Heritage Global Partners, there are quite a few wooden lounge and rocking chairs going on sale with starting bids at just $50. There also seems to be a lot of kitchen equipment, including multiple refrigerators and even a vegetable dryer, which would be useful for a large staff, if—indeed—Twitter still had that many employees left.
Musk does owe quite a few major financial institutions and big name investors quite a lot for his $44 billion Twitter purchase, though a representative for HGP told Fortune that the auction “has nothing to do with [Twitter’s] financial situation.” He further told the outlet “if anyone genuinely thinks that the revenue from selling a couple computers and chairs will pay for the mountain there, then they’re a moron.”
Fair enough, since even if each of the 966 lots going on sale each went for an astronomical $1 million, that would still put Musk $43.69 billion in the red. Gizmodo reached out to Twitter to ask why these items were going on auction, but we did not hear back.
Still, it does beg the question of what does a company with many fewer employees need with all that stuff? Musk had already converted several of his San Francisco headquarters old conference rooms into motel-style bedrooms. City officials at the building inspection department have publicly said they would investigate whether the Twitter HQ is legally allowed to have bedrooms inside its working space, something Musk himself found particularly aggravating as he called out city Mayor London Breed for going after “companies providing beds for tired employees instead of making sure kids are safe from fentanyl,” as if the city buildings department is also in charge of drug policy.
The auction is set to begin Jan. 17 next year, though beware that buyers are responsible for arranging their own shipping. Even though most are meant for companies to bid, we listed are just a few of the most interesting offerings Twitter’s downsized company is letting loose on the world.