The public will have the chance to take a piece of Twitter history home with them as the social media company holds an auction for the furniture and kitchen equipment from its San Francisco office.
Up for grabs are a variety of items including La Marzocco espresso machines, Rotisol rotisserie ovens, commercial blenders, Apple computers and monitors, Google Jamboards, NEC projectors, phones and speakerphones, soft seats and furnishings, and hundreds of office chairs.
The auction, hosted by Heritage Global Partners, will take place next month and will give former employees the opportunity to reclaim a part of their past. With the company’s recent restructuring and new owner Elon Musk setting high expectations, the auction provides a chance for the public to grab a piece of Twitter’s legacy.
Now, however, he is offering a different kind of memento: Twitter-themed memorabilia is up for auction, including a giant statue of the Twitter logo and a sculpture of the “@” symbol.
The company is also releasing two novelty stationary bikes used to charge electronics. These moves signal a shift toward a more streamlined and efficient workplace, as Musk stated that he expects “extremely hardcore” working hours from remaining employees and a focus on “engineering-driven” pursuits.
Twitter’s acquisition by Elon Musk has shed light on the excess amenities at the social media giant, with Musk uncovering a closet full of “#StayWoke” shirts. The discovery, shared in a viral video, has prompted criticism of the competitive edge of the startup and venture capital sectors.
Business leaders in Silicon Valley have been taken aback by the dramatic shift in company culture at Twitter, following CEO Elon Musk’s dismissal of most of his employees. Surprisingly, the platform has continued to thrive, with an increase in both new users and time spent on the site.
“The fact that Twitter is running well with headcount down significantly really matters,” Atreides Management Chief Investment Officer Gavin Baker remarked, adding that many Silicon Valley executives begrudgingly admire Musk. He referenced an email from a venture-funded manager dismissing employees and explaining that only top performers would be permitted to keep their posts, recalling language used by Musk as he trimmed the fat from Twitter in recent weeks.
Investors have prompted several portfolio companies to take similar steps in light of the current economic climate. This comes after Lyft and Amazon announced layoffs or hiring freezes in recent weeks, indicating increased financial strain and an excess of staff on their payrolls.
“It is a poorly kept secret in Silicon Valley that companies ranging from Google to Meta to Twitter to Uber could achieve similar levels of revenue with far fewer people,” Altimeter Capital Management CEO Brad Gerstner wrote in a recent letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. “I would take it a step further and argue that these incredible companies would run even better and more efficiently without the layers and lethargy that comes with this extreme rate of employee expansion.”