Twitter to sell bird sign and office furniture as Musk clears out HQ
TWITTER has put a neon bird logo and old coffee machines up for sale as Elon Musk auctions off unwanted office supplies in the wake of his tumultuous takeover. The troubled social media site has put 631 items under the hammer, including rotisserie and pizza ovens, fridges, projectors, televisions and a bicycle-powered USB charging station.
The auction also includes dozens of mundane office items such as chairs, tables and stools.
The sale, led by auctioneer Heritage Global Partners (HGP), listed starting bids at either $25 (£20) or $50. All the items are listed at Twitter’s headquarters in San Francisco, where staff numbers have dwindled since Mr Musk sacked thousands of employees.
The company has reportedly been sued after failing to pay over $136,000 in rent on its offices as the Tesla billionaire tries to cut costs. Mr Musk, who paid $44bn for Twitter in October, is facing the first tranche of interest payments on the $13bn of debt he used to fund the deal. The interest equates to around $1.5bn per year.
The auction could reflect efforts by Mr Musk to claw back money, though the takings would make little dent in Twitter’s troubled finances.
Auctioneer HGP has previously insisted that the sale had nothing to do with Twitter’s financial position, telling Fortune: “If anyone thinks that the revenue from selling a couple of computers and chairs will pay for the mountain there, then they’re a moron.”
Twitter, which no longer has a media relations department, has been contacted for comment. The auction comes amid wider efforts to increase revenues and cut costs at Twitter. Under Mr Musk, the site has started charging users $8 per month for blue-tick verification, while the new owner has hinted at plans to turn the company into a new “super app” similar to China’s Wechat.
But it has been plagued by technical difficulties following the layoffs, while users have also complained about new features such as an update that mimics Tiktok’s algorithmic timeline.
Mr Musk has also said he will step down as chief executive after Twitter users voted decisively for him to quit in a poll. However, the billionaire said he would only leave when he had found someone “foolish enough” to take the job.