Elon Musk slams San Francisco for probe of bedrooms at Twitter HQ

Twitter in recent weeks has turned several conference rooms at the office into makeshift bedrooms, complete with furniture like bedside tables and armchairs, according to people familiar with the matter. — AP

Elon Musk on Dec 6 criticised San Francisco Mayor London Breed following a report the city is investigating Twitter Inc for setting up bedrooms at its headquarters, saying the company was being unfairly attacked for “providing beds for tired employees”.

Twitter in recent weeks has turned several conference rooms at the office into makeshift bedrooms, complete with furniture like bedside tables and armchairs, according to people familiar with the matter. It no longer needs as many conference rooms now that thousands of employees have either been laid off or fired after the billionaire’s US$44bil (RM193.42bil) purchase of the company in late October.

A spokesperson for the city’s Department of Building Inspections told the San Francisco Chronicle that it would conduct a site inspection on Twitter headquarters following a complaint about the bedrooms, a possible violation of the building code.

In a tweet, Musk attached a link to a recent Chronicle report about a baby’s near death after allegedly accidentally ingesting fentanyl at a San Francisco playground. After the incident, Breed tweeted “it’s important to keep public spaces safe” and said those who sell the drug must be held accountable.

Before his Twitter purchase closed, Musk floated the idea of turning the social media company’s office building into a homeless shelter, saying that employees weren’t turning up due to its now discontinued work-from-home policies. Since acquiring the company and firing around 3,700 employees, nearly half of its workforce, he issued an ultimatum to remaining staff to commit to “hardcore” Twitter.

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Not only does Musk expect employees to work long hours and even sleep at the office when necessary, but he has also asked many of his employees at Tesla Inc and the Boring Co to assist him at Twitter during the transition period. The rooms are also believed to be for those workers, some of whom travel to Twitter for work meetings, the people with knowledge of the matter said. – Bloomberg