'Over my dead body': Elon Musk refuses to pay up | Tech

'Over my dead body': Elon Musk refuses to pay up

It is alleged that Elon Musk made a statement during a 4 a.m. conversation with an investor, stating that Twitter would only pay rent for its offices "over his dead body."

By: HT TECH
| Updated on: May 21 2023, 16:06 IST
In Pics: Your Twitter has been changed forever by Elon Musk
Elon Musk
1/7 Twitter top officials fired: As soon as Musk took over Twitter, he fired the top executives including CEO Parag Agrawal, CFO Ned Segal, legal affairs and policy chief Vijaya Gadde. That was the first decision taken by Musk at Twitter. On Friday, Twitter also laid off 50 percent of its employees and Musk defended the step by saying that this is being done in an effort to place Twitter on a profitable path. (AFP)
Elon Musk
2/7 Charges for Blue Tick: Twitter users who want a verified account will now have to pay charges for the same as Twitter will now charge $8 for Blue Tick. Musk supported the decision by posting a number of tweets regarding the same. He believes the subscription fee will give Twitter 'a revenue stream to reward content creators' while the company will not have to depend on advertisers. (REUTERS)
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3/7 Twitter Content Moderation Council: Twitter will set up a content moderation council with widely diverse viewpoints. The council will be accountable for all main content-related decisions. (AFP)
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4/7 Advertisers: General Motors, General Mills, Audi of America, Oreo maker Mondelez International, Pfizer Inc and Ford are some of the corporate companies who have distanced themselves from Twitter. Several advertisers have suspended ad spending on Twitter altogether. (REUTERS)
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5/7 Changes to Twitter's homepage: Musk requested that users who have logged out of Twitter and visit the homepage of Twitter's site to be redirected to the Explore page which shows trending tweets and news stories, according to a report by Verge. (REUTERS)
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6/7 Vine: Musk put up a poll on Twitter asking people if he should bring back Vine. (AP)
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7/7 Removal of Days of Rest: Days of Rest has been removed from the calendars of the Twitter employees. It can be known that the Days of Rest refers to the monthly days off to let employees rest and recharge. (AP)
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Elon Musk refuses to pay Twitter office rent, lawsuit claims (AP)

Elon Musk has been named in a lawsuit filed by six former Twitter employees who alleged that he stated Twitter would only pay rent for its offices "over his dead body" during a 4 a.m. conversation with an investor, reported Business Insider. The lawsuit, filed against Musk and X. Corp, Twitter's holding company, in the District Court of Delaware on Tuesday, accuses the defendants of violating 14 counts, including fraud, labour-rights laws, and breach of contract. This legal action comes as Twitter faces lawsuits from its landlords in London, New York City, and San Francisco for alleged failure to pay rent. The newly filed lawsuit provides further insight into internal discussions surrounding the rent situation.

According to the lawsuit, Joseph Killian, one of the plaintiffs who worked at Twitter for 12 years and oversaw office design, was aware that Musk had decided in December to stop paying rent for Twitter. This information was allegedly conveyed to Killian by Pablo Mendoza, a venture capitalist who had invested with Musk and was involved in implementing Musk's Twitter 2.0 vision. The lawsuit claims that Killian tried to persuade Musk, through Mendoza, of the impracticality of the decision, highlighting that renegotiating Twitter's lease terms would likely fail. In response, the lawsuit states that Mendoza said, "Elon told me he would only pay rent over his dead body," noting that the conversation took place at 4 a.m. on the same day.

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Musk, who revealed that he typically sleeps around six hours a night, addressed the allegations during an interview with CNBC, where he also admitted to regretting tweeting after 3 a.m. In defence of Twitter's non-payment of rent, Musk's attorney, Alex Spiro, allegedly stated that it was unreasonable for landlords to expect rent from Twitter due to San Francisco being described as a "shithole." Notably, Twitter's headquarters are located near San Francisco's Tenderloin district.

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On Tuesday, Musk tweeted that downtown San Francisco resembled "a derelict zombie apocalypse." However, he clarified to CNBC that his employees were unable to work from home. Insider reached out to Twitter for comment, but the company responded with an automated message that did not address the inquiry.

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First Published Date: 21 May, 16:06 IST
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