LONDON — More landlords are suing Twitter for non-payment of rent, this time at the social media company’s San Francisco headquarters and its British offices, the latest sign that landlord Elon Musk’s extreme cost-cutting strategy includes just don’t pay the bills.
Twitter is facing a lawsuit over allegations it failed to pay rent for its headquarters, according to California court documents. Meanwhile, the owner of its central London facility said he will take the company to court over rent debt.
Musk is cutting costs after his $44 billion deal last year to buy Twitter left the company strapped for about $1 billion in annual interest payments. Twitter has already been taken to court this month for falling behind on another San Francisco office rent.
Is he ultimate legal headache for Musk, who has been testifying in recent days in a separate class action lawsuit by Tesla investors alleging that his 2017 tweet misled them about funding to take the electric car maker private.
Billionaire Tesla CEO’s cost-cutting strategy for Twitter has also included eviscerate the company’s workforce Y souvenir auction and luxury office furniture.
Twitter did not respond to a request for comment. His communications department was shut down after the Musk takeover.
The owner of Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters, located at 1355 Market St., is suing the company after it missed its last monthly rent payment, according to documents filed Friday in California Superior Court.
The company, Sri Nine Market Square LLC, said Twitter «breached the lease by failing to pay monthly rent and additional rent» for January in the amount of $3.4 million.
Twitter, which has held a lease on three floors in the building since 2011, had fallen behind on a similar amount of rent in December, which Sri Nine Market Square recovered from a letter of credit Twitter had put up as a security deposit, the presentation said.
After using those funds, the landlord says Twitter still owes $3.16 million in unpaid rent and is seeking late fees and interest plus attorneys’ fees. The social media company still occupies the property, the owner said.
In Britain, the Crown Estate has launched legal proceedings against Twitter after the company fell behind in renting its offices near London’s famous Piccadilly Circus.
Crown Estate, which owns some of central London’s most expensive real estate, said it had taken action following previous contact with Twitter about the unpaid rent and is in talks with the company, but provided no further information.
Crown Estate is an extensive portfolio of properties that includes much of London’s Regent Street, as well as the Windsor estate. It is an independently run trading business, but its profits are used as a benchmark for Sovereign Grant funding, which is public money that funds the official work of the British royal family.