--- title: "Squatter Elon Musk Reportedly No Longer Paying Rent at Twitter" description: "Squatter's Rights New Twitter CEO Elon, who officially purchased the microblogging app for a cool $44 billion back in October, has discovered that when you purchase a major social media platform — and either fire or force out most of the company's workforce as you do — there are a lot of bills that come […]" date: "2022-12-14" modified: "2022-12-14" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/squatter-elon-musk-paying-rent-twitter" categories: - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "elon musk" - "social media" - "the digest" - "twitter" --- # Squatter Elon Musk Reportedly No Longer Paying Rent at Twitter ![Twitter CEO Elon Musk has refused to pay the rent for Twitter's San Francisco HQ for several weeks now, according to sources familiar with the matter.]() *\Image: Anadolu Agency via Getty / Futurism\* ## Squatter's Rights New Twitter CEO Elon, who officially purchased the microblogging app for a cool $44 billion in October, has discovered that when you purchase a major social media platform — and either fire or force out most of the company's workforce as you do — there are a *lot* of bills that come due. His solution? Just, uh, don't pay 'em. *The New York Times* [reports that]() Musk, who's allegedly anticipating a number of expensive lawsuits concerning his unorthodox takeover of the platform, has among other cost-cutting measures refused to pay the rent for Twitter's San Francisco HQ for several weeks now, according to sources familiar with the matter. ## Ignore! Ignore! Elsewhere, the *NYT's* sources say that Musk has also failed to pay a $197,725 bill for private charter flights and has even considered *not paying departed employees* the severance they were promised. Although, given the fact that this latest report comes on [the heels]() of [recent allegations]() that Musk has stiffed several of Twitter's outside vendors, unceremoniously and without warning [fired Twitter's janitorial staff](), and even [failed to pay]() Twitter's own international employees on time, none of these insights are *terribly* shocking. ## Legal Chaos These alleged money-saving measures, it's worth noting, reportedly sit against the backdrop of chaotic internal legal drama. Musk has reportedly fired Alex Spiro, his personal lawyer, who had [migrated to Twitter]() alongside the SpaceX and Tesla CEO. According to the *NYT*, Spiro kept saving James A. Baker — Twitter's former deputy general counsel — from the employment chopping block, but was finally canned after Musk learned that Baker reviewed internal documents related to Twitter's alleged suppression of the Hunter Biden laptop scandal. Musk, unhappy with Spiro, let him go from the company as well, and in [classic Elon fashion]() has reportedly dragged roughly half a dozen lawyers from SpaceX to Twitter to make up for the losses. And in the midst of those legal shuffles, sources say that Musk has threatened legal action against current employees who "act in a manner contrary to the company's interest." "If you clearly and deliberately violate the NDA that you signed when joining Twitter," the [Chief Twit]() wrote in an email to employees [obtained by *Platformer*](), "you accept liability to the full extent of the law and Twitter will immediately seek damages." Cool. Well. Sounds like totally normal business things are happening over at Twitter HQ. **READ MORE:** *[Musk Shakes Up Twitter's Legal Team as He Looks to Cut More Costs]()* \[*The New York Times*\] **More on Twitter's money-pinching:** *[Fired Twitter Janitor Says Elon Musk Crony Told Him He'd Be Replaced Robots]()* ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()