A neon twitter bird for $35,000, anyone? How about a used industrial kitchen mixer for a good price? Going once…
When Elon Musk wants to make a point, it can be pretty blunt. On the day he took over Twitter last fall, he carried a sink into the company’s San Francisco headquarters. “Let that sink in,” he tweeted. Take it?
After the company cut staff, fell behind on rent and contractual obligations. Twitter under the mercurial billionaire is now auctioning off memorabilia. Fancy office furniture and professional kitchen equipment from its . San Francisco offices, where large herds now sit empty and free meals are a relic. of the past.
With the auction, Musk’s message is twofold: while drawing attention to . The perceived excesses of Twitter’s previous administration . While signaling that cost-cutting — at any cost — is a top priority.
Among the items that received the highest bids, besides the neon bird. Were a plain Twitter bird statue valued at more than $30,000 and a planter sculpture of the “@” symbol. Professional kitchen equipment, meanwhile, is going for thousands of dollars. It includes a commercial dehydrator. A fryer and a La Marzocco Strada semi-automatic espresso machine. Which retails for about $25,000 (the top bid as of Wednesday morning was $12,000).
Even when all is added up. The money raised from the auction, which closes Wednesday, is unlikely. To make a dent in Twitter’s financial obligations.
Musk bought Twitter in October for $44 billion, and the deal could pay . The company about $1 billion a year in interest. Much of Musk’s wealth is tied to his ownership of . Tesla shares, which have lost more than 40% of their value. Since taking ownership of Twitter in late October. He has sold about $23 billion worth of stock in the electric vehicle company to fund. Thebuye since April, after he began building a position on Twitter. According to Forbes, he also lost the top spot as the world’s richest person.
Twitter, which no longer has a media relations department. Did not immediately respond to a message for comment on Wednesday.
Musk defended his drastic cost-cutting measures in. A late-night Twitter space call in December.
“This company is, , you’re in a plane. That’s heading toward the ground at high . Speed with an engine on fire and the controls aren’t working,” Musk said on Dec. 21.
