“Nuclear you can trust,” the supposedly resurrected Enron says of its fake new at-home nuclear … [+] reactor.
Enron.com
As CES product launches flood the internet faster than you can say consumer tech, you may have come across the “Enron Egg,” a micro nuclear reactor that promises to power your home for 10 years straight. But don’t cut ties with your electric company just yet. Enron, the company infamous for its massive accounting scandal and eventual collapse, hasn’t made a comeback. The Enron Egg is a hoax from a parody company of the same name.
On Monday, a website for Enron Corporation bearing the company’s old logo, announced an egg-shaped device that supposedly will revolutionize home energy. “Nuclear you can trust,” declared the fake page for the fake product, which then goes on to detail its purported benefits.
“The heat-resistant casing is engineered to withstand extreme temperatures, ensuring unmatched durability and safety,” the site boasts. “Designed for peak performance, it protects the reactor’s core while maintaining optimal thermal efficiency — even in the harshest conditions.”
The description for the satiric product also claims that an integrated chip “enables seamless 24/7 monitoring by “Enron’s nuclear management facility, ensuring real-time oversight and unparalleled operational safety — anytime, anywhere.”
An enthusiastic fake audience attends a parody reveal for the Enron Egg.
Enron.com screenshot by Leslie Katz
A parody product launch video shared on social media features fake company executives pacing on stage, clicking a handheld remote to change floor-to-ceiling projections as they hype their egg-shaped gadget to a fawning audience. According to the officials, the Enron Egg revolutionizes three industries, power industry, “independence” and “freedom.”
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“I’ve been living with an Egg for a full months now, and let me just tell you that my little ones they freakin’ love it, especially when what we save on the energy bill we can spend on Christmas presents,” says Connor Gaydos, who co-wrote the book “Birds Aren’t Real” about online conspiracy theories and is now the supposed CEO of the seemingly relaunched Enron.
Many people online immediately got the Enron Egg joke, and responded with their own quips to the company that on X calls itself “world’s leading company”: One wrote: “Would you call this cracked?” Wrote another: “This is great. I envision the world powered by Enron Eggs over easy!”
But in an era when false information spreads instantly online, some wondered whether the product might actually be real.
Enron, the Houston-based energy, commodities and services company, filed for bankruptcy in 2001 and dissolved after its accounting fraud came to light. At the time, the company held over $60 billion in assets. Its downfall spurred new regulations and legislation designed to improve the accuracy of financial reporting for public companies.
The newsroom for the fake Enron includes a press release dated Dec. 2 announcing that Enron has relaunched as a company focused on solving the global energy crisis. Tech giants are, in fact, betting big on a nuclear power renaissance in a world facing ever increasing energy demands. But adoption of the technology still faces high costs, regulatory hurdles and lingering fears from nuclear accidents like Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima.
What Happens When You Preorder An Enron Egg?
The press release announcing the company’s return looks surprisingly legitimate and even includes a press contact email. Curious, I sent a few questions, expecting my email to bounce back undelivered. Instead, I received a polite response from someone at media strategy company Stu Loeser & Co., though he didn’t say how many people had clicked on the Enron Egg preorder button, which leads to a newsletter signup.
Terms and conditions on Enron.com clearly state that information on the site “represents performance art and is for entertainment purposes only.” For those who miss that, another clue is the acrostic poem assigning adjectives to each letter in Enron. The “r” stands for “repentant,” and the last “n” stands for nice — amusingly ironic given the company’s past behavior.
