Twitter’s landlord is suing the microblogging platform for not paying rent for its San Francisco building. The office is situated on the 30th floor of the Hartford Building – Columbia Reit – 650 California LLC.
Quick Facts
- According to news reports, Twitter has $136,260 due on rent money
- The lawsuit is filed last Thursday by the company’s landlord, the Columbia Property Trust
- It served a notice to the social media company on December 16, 2022, allowing the company five more days before filing a lawsuit
- The landlord is seeking reparations for damages including the back rent, attorney’s fees and other expenses
In 2017, Twitter signed a seven-year lease for the offices that entailed a monthly rent worth $107,526.50 in the first full year. It gradually increased to $128,397 in seven years. After Elon Musk’s $44 billion Twitter takeover in October 2022, the company has incurred heavy losses prompting the company to take serious measures.
The Tesla owner was seen hosting auction sales and offloading employees in an attempt to save capital. According to the New York Times, Musk has made several attempts to renegotiate the lease agreement terms.
Twitter has reportedly received multiple complaints from a real estate firm called Shorenstein, which owns Twitter’s San Francisco building. In such dire circumstances, Twitter has no option but to continue its downsizing by shutting down its Seattle offices.
Twitter’s offices in New York and San Francisco have also cut down on cleaning and security staff. The San Francisco headquarters has even reduced its office space which now has two floors instead of six.
The company was also sued for refusing to pay for two charter flights earlier in December 2022. Twitter, which does not have a communications department, has ignored requests for comments.
Twitter’s Revenue Drop After Elon Musk’s $44 Billion Acquisition
Elon Musk claimed that the social media giant suffered a “massive drop in revenue” due to unsolicited interference from activist groups. His statement wasn’t backed by evidence or figures.
He tweeted about the negative impact these groups have had and the pressure they put on advertisers. Ever since he became the CEO, advertisers have pulled out of the platform scared that their ads might pop up in inappropriate places.
As a consequence, Musk took drastic steps to ease up the company’s finances. Twitter’s San Francisco office made headlines because its conference rooms were being used as bedrooms by the employees.
Former employees of Twitter revealed that the new CEO has been regularly staying over at the Twitter headquarters in San Francisco after he acquired the firm.
According to Bloomberg, these makeshift bedrooms have been harboring Tesla workers and staff from other businesses owned by Musk. When the news about these sleepovers came out, California state senator Scott Wiener aired out his reservations about Musk.
“He is now making them [workers] sleep at Twitter. It’s clear that he doesn’t really care about people,” said Wiener. “He doesn’t care about the people who work for him.” San Francisco’s Department of Building Inspection is now reportedly investigating potential violations after receiving a complaint against Twitter.
Although Twitter has lost multiple advertisers on the platform, major companies like Apple and Amazon have returned to the microblogging site. In addition, Musk is capitalizing on Twitter Blue, a premium subscription service for users.
What is Twitter Blue and Can it Save the Social Media Giant?
In hopes of generating fresh revenue for Twitter, Musk reintroduced the platform’s subscription service called Twitter Blue, which launched on Monday after a long delay.
Twitter Blue subscribers can pay $8 a month for its web services and $11 a month for iOS users who can install it from the App Store. The $3 difference for the iOS subscription is Musk’s retaliation to Apple’s decision to rake in 30% of all digital sales made through apps.
Users of Twitter Blue will receive a blue checkmark once their phone numbers are verified and their accounts approved, announced by Twitter on Saturday.
Blue subscribers can edit tweets, make exclusive customizations and receive early access to new features. In addition, they will be shown fewer ads and allowed to post longer videos that will gain more precedence over other replies and mentions.
Musk openly criticized Twitter’s previous guidelines that only allotted blue ticks to prominent users like politicians, press members, executives, and organizations to assert their significance. According to the CEO, the new feature will be “the great leveler” and give “power to the people.”
However, the new feature has been slow to take off, raising doubts about its feasibility in the long run.
