Twitter’s New York Landlord Silent on Reports Elon Musk Not Paying Rent
By Nicholas Rizzi December 14, 2022 4:35 pm
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Elon Musk has reportedly ordered Twitter to skip out on rent for its offices, but its New York City landlord remains mum on the news.
Musk, who bought Twitter for $44 billion in October, has been boosting the social media giant’s war chests to get ready for potential legal battles and has not paid rent “for its San Francisco headquarters or any of its global offices for weeks,” sources told The New York Times.
Twitter occupies nearly 140,000 square feet at 245 West 17th Street. Its landlord there, Columbia Property Trust, would not confirm or deny the reports.
“As a policy, we do not comment on these types of inquiries,” a spokesperson for Columbia told Commercial Observer in a statement.
Aside from missing rent, Twitter has also reportedly told employees to stiff vendors and has been considering the ramifications of not giving severance to the thousands of workers laid off since Musk took the helm.
A spokesperson for Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Musk’s apparent decision to skip rent is the latest twist in his chaotic reign over Twitter that includes mass layoffs and resignations, forcing workers back into the office full-time, and a series of moves that drove advertisers off the platform, shrinking ad revenue during a usually booming World Cup time. But Musk isn’t the first Twitter boss to look at real estate for savings.
Twitter subleased 11,000 square feet at 245 West 17th to Lyft in 2017, and in July announced plans to close one of its San Francisco offices while eyeing shuttering and shrinking others. That includes looking to sublet a full floor of its space at 245 West 17th.
Nicholas Rizzi can be reached at nrizzi@commercialobserver.com.
