Elon Musk Reportedly Strives to Raise $3 Billion to Save Twitter
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Twitter CEO Elon Musk is reportedly looking into raising $3 billion to offset the recent debt the company has accrued since he took over in October. The company is currently $13 billion in debt, according to people familiar with the matter, and Musk said in December that he planned to sell $3 billion of his Twitter shares, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.
Musk’s apparent endeavor to secure funds comes after approximately 6,000 employees at the company were laid off. The company has also been dealt a blow in the form of filed lawsuits from building management companies that claim Twitter breached its contract by not paying rent, and the company is facing legal implications with the Crown Estate in the UK for failing to pay rent in its London office space.
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Three months into his Twitter takeover, Musk has been finding additional ways to cut costs, including auctioning off furniture, office supplies, and even an iconic blue bird statue, which sold for $100,000. When Musk completed his $44 billion buyout of the social media platform, he also acquired $1 billion in annual interest. As Musk has reached out to new and existing investors to raise additional funds, some of them have expressed disdain and concern over Twitter’s future, the Wall Street Journal reported.
When asked on Twitter if the Wall Street Journal’s report was true and if he will be selling up to $3 billion in his Twitter shares, Musk simply responded, “No.”
Twitter has seen a substantial loss in income as around 500 of its top advertisers have pulled back on the platform, resulting in a loss of more than $4 million a day, bringing its revenue down by 40%. In November, Musk went so far as to offer doomsday prediction, saying that bankruptcy could be a possibility for the company. He later backtracked following the mass layoffs, saying he expects Twitter to break even financially in 2023.
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