Elon Musk, no longer the world's richest after Tesla dive, has reportedly stopped Twitter's rent payments
Elon Musk officially lost his title as the world's wealthiest person on Tuesday as Tesla's shares — the main source of his fortune — fell another 4 percent, for a total loss in value of 54.3 percent this year, The Wall Street Journal reports. Investors and other stakeholders are increasingly expressing concern that Musk is spending all his time and energy on Twitter, which he bought for $44 billion in October, rather than Tesla and SpaceX.
Musk's antics at Twitter are also dragging down Tesla's brand image, Morning Consult and YouGov have found. About half of the electric automaker's stock losses have occurred since Musk completed his Twitter purchase in late October. Much of what Musk has done at Twitter since then is cut costs, controversially.
Among other things, Musk fired about half of Twitter's staff, pushed out other workers, made abrupt changes to the company's business model then pulled them back, and scared away advertisers with his erratic policy decisions on "free speech." In the past few days, Musk abruptly disbanded Twitter's trust and safety council and forced out Alex Spiro, his personal lawyer and the legal and policy chief he brought on after firing Twitter's lawyers, shifting those duties to a handful of SpaceX lawyers, The New York Times reports.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Musk's Twitter has also drawn scrutiny from the Federal Trade Commission over possible breaches of a consent decree on user privacy and from San Francisco's Department of Building Inspection for evidently turning Twitter's headquarters into a quasi-hotel for "hardcore" workers who sleep at the office. And Musk also stopped paying vendors and rent for Twitter's San Francisco HQ or any of its other global offices weeks ago, the Times reports.
Since Twitter's workforce is much smaller now, "Musk's team has been hoping to renegotiate the terms of lease agreements," the Times explains. "The company has received complaints from real estate investment and management firms including Shorenstein, which owns the San Francisco buildings that Twitter occupies."
Musk's team is also considering not paying the severance it promised to thousands of people who have left Twitter since he took over, gambling it would cost less to settle lawsuits from former employees, the Times reports. You can read more about Musk's money-saving efforts — including auctioning off Twitter's industrial-grade kitchen equipment and electronics — at The New York Times.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
What reclassifying cannabis could change
The Explainer The Biden administration's move to change marijuana from a Schedule I narcotic to Schedule III could reshape the pot landscape even if it doesn't mean full federal legalization
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Crossword: May 9, 2024
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
Sudoku hard: May 9, 2024
The Week's daily hard sudoku puzzle
By The Week Staff Published
-
Musk clears Tesla self-driving hurdle in China
Speed Read The Tesla CEO won China's approval to introduce Full Self-Driving (FSD) cars
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Why is Tesla stumbling?
In the Spotlight More competition, confusion about the future and a giant pay package for Elon Musk
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Tesla cuts prices in 'intensifying' EV war
Speed Read Electric vehicle giant has struggled in the face of weakening demand, competition from China and technical setbacks
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
Empty-nest boomers aren't selling their big homes
Speed Read Most Americans 60 and older do not intend to move, according to a recent survey
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Brazil accuses Musk of 'disinformation campaign'
Speed Read A Brazilian Supreme Court judge has opened an inquiry into Elon Musk and X
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Disney board fends off Peltz infiltration bid
Speed Read Disney CEO Bob Iger has defeated activist investor Nelson Peltz in a contentious proxy battle
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Disney and DeSantis reach detente
Speed Read The Florida governor and Disney settle a yearslong litigation over control of the tourism district
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Visa and Mastercard agree to lower swipe fees
Speed Read The companies will cap the fees they charge businesses when customers use their credit cards
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published