April Fool’s comes early as fake Enron Egg grabs attention

If you thought 2025 would finally bring the era of home nuclear power, think again.

Amid the world-renowned Consumer Electronics Show (CES) kicking off in Las Vegas this week, news of a supposed micro nuclear reactor designed to power homes for a decade, the so-called ‘Enron Egg’, has started grabbing attention online. And despite being a hoax, the internet fell for it (at least, some of it did).

A suspiciously sleek website for the long-defunct energy giant Enron emerged this week, unveiling what it claimed to be a revolutionary product.

“Nuclear you can trust,” boasted the marketing copy.

The Enron Egg, described in over-the-top detail, allegedly featured heat-resistant casing designed to withstand “extreme temperatures,” a “closed-loop cooling system,” and an integrated chip for “24/7 monitoring by Enron’s nuclear management facility.”

The parody extended to a CES-style product launch video, complete with a charismatic fake CEO, Connor Gaydos, pacing on stage in front of a massive screen displaying the oversized egg.

Gaydos, best known for co-founding the conspiracy-theory satire movement “Birds Aren’t Real,” claimed he had been “living with an Egg” for months and that his “little ones freakin’ love it.” The spectacle was met with online reactions ranging from admiration for the trolling effort to genuine confusion about whether the product was real.

In 2020, the Enron domain was purchased by Connor Gaydos and his company, The College Company, for $275.

A video on X had already notched up over 1 million views by Wednesday.

Meet The Enron Egg, the world’s first at-home nuclear reactor. Watch the historic reveal. pic.twitter.com/VUHbuuBwjA

— Enron (@Enron) January 6, 2025

Some X users quickly got the joke. “This is great. I envision the world powered by Enron Eggs over easy!” quipped one commenter. Others weren’t so sure. “How do I order one?” asked another user.

The hoax was so carefully put together that it came with a press release, announcing Enron’s triumphant return as a nuclear energy leader. Clicking on the pre-order button for the Enron Egg simply leads to a newsletter signup, a subtle nudge that perhaps, just maybe, the product wasn’t real.

The real Enron, of course, collapsed in spectacular fashion two decades ago, leaving behind a legacy of financial misconduct, regulatory crackdowns, and a cultural shorthand for corporate fraud.

Enron, once a Wall Street darling and one of the largest energy companies in the world, collapsed in 2001 in one of the most infamous corporate scandals in history. The company used deceptive accounting practices, including off-the-books entities and mark-to-market accounting, to hide its massive debts and inflate profits.

When these fraudulent tactics were exposed, investor confidence plummeted, and Enron’s stock, once valued at over $90 per share, became worthless. The scandal led to the bankruptcy of the company, significant financial losses for shareholders and employees, and the dissolution of accounting firm Arthur Andersen. The fallout spurred major regulatory reforms, including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, aimed at improving corporate financial transparency and accountability.