Elon Musk is skimping on office rent to make up for the $44 billion he spent buying Twitter
Elon Musk is a wonderful boss, we all know that (all pun intended), and now he is proving to be even better tenant. According to a report, Twitter has stopped paying rent following its new owner Musk's $44 billion acquisition
What? According to media reports, when Elon Musk bought Twitter, he implemented several of his 'cost-cutting' measures from not providing travel reimbursements to current and former employees and now not paying the rent of Twitter office spaces globally.
Now, his landlord is suing him.
According to the complaint filed last week by the building's landlord, Twitter owes $136,260 (approximately Rs 1.12 crore) as over due on its offices on the 30th floor of a building in downtown San Francisco, US.
The landlord at the building (not the one which he brought over not so iconic sink) served the social media company with a notice on December 16, notifying it that if it did not pay within five days, it would be in default. According to the lawsuit, five days passed without payment.
The landlord has demanded his rent back, as well as attorney's fees and other expenses.
Daniel Bornstein, a real estate attorney in San Francisco who represents property owners in tenant-landlord disputes, said, as reported by CNN, the complaint could be among the first of many to drop if Musk foregoes payment on some of Twitter's financial obligations.
- In addition to not paying rent and laying off employees, Musk's Twitter is auctioning off high-end office furniture, kitchen equipment, and other relics from the past like free lunch and other workplace benefits were also scrapped.
- It is believed that three-quarters of Twitter's personnel base has departed the firm, either because they were laid off, fired, or quit.
Why though?
Experts believe that there could be two possibilities: One, Musk is clearly not bothered enough to pay the rent and is actually downsizing or he is looking for new office space to rent.
And here's how Twitter is reacting to it:
Twitter's previous lawsuits
Twitter is also facing another lawsuit from Jet Services Group LLC, which is alleging that the Musk-owned company has not paid rent for two charter flights in October. The amount is reportedly valued at $197,725 (roughly Rs 1.63 crore), and the suit was filed in New Hampshire District Court last month.