Billionaire Elon Musk is facing his latest legal battle since acquiring social media giant Twitter, this time for converting some of the company's unused space at its San Francisco headquarters into potentially illegal bedrooms.
City officials confirmed they are investigating claims the tech company set up mattresses in empty conference rooms, a possible violation of San Francisco's building codes and another window into the day-to-day activities at Twitter after Musk's $47 billion takeover in October.
The makeshift sleeping quarters, first reported by Forbes, have been set up with "unmade mattresses, drab curtains and giant conference-room monitors" as part of Musk's demands that remaining Twitter employees put in long hours and commit themselves to helping turn the struggling tech company around. Since acquiring the firm and firing about 3,700 employees — roughly half of its workforce — Musk issued an ultimatum to remaining staff last month to commit to “hardcore” Twitter.
The complaint to San Francisco's building inspection department, which was filed on Twitter itself, came after employees claimed an estimated four to eight bedrooms were installed on each level in the 1355 Market St. building. The city's Department of Building Inspection is now looking to set up an inspection of the building in order to determine potential violations. A date has yet to be set.
“We investigate all complaints," Patrick Hannan, a spokesperson for the Department of Building Inspection, said in a statement. "We need to make sure the building is being used as intended. There are different building code requirements for residential buildings, including those being used for short-term stays. These codes make sure people are using spaces safely.”
California's labor board is also investigating the company for not properly notifying it about layoffs. Former employees have filed several lawsuits over severance and firing-related issues. The company is under increased scrutiny by the Securities and Exchange Commission as well as overseas regulators for alleged misinformation and hate speech. To top it off, janitors at the company's headquarters went on strike earlier this month to protest the company's termination of a contract to clean the office space.
Twitter did not immediately respond to CoStar News' requests to comment, but Musk appeared to confirm the allegations when he lashed out at San Francisco Mayor London Breed for scrutinizing the tech company rather than focusing on other issues plaguing the city, such as homelessness and drug use.
“So city of SF attacks companies providing beds for tired employees instead of making sure kids are safe from fentanyl," Musk posted to Twitter on Tuesday, referring to the recently reported fentanyl overdose of a 10-month-old baby.
Working overtime and committing to unforgiving schedules has long been a cornerstone of tech culture, which has at times celebrated a lack of sleep, proper nutrition or health if it meant contributing to a company's success. Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, who was recently sentenced to multiple counts of fraud, often bragged about her long days and sleeping on her office couch.
Musk himself has claimed he often sleeps in his offices and said in a now-deleted Twitter post that he would sleep in the Twitter headquarters building too “until the org is fixed.”