- Elon Musk told staff “let them sue” in response to complaints from Twitter vendors about unpaid bills, reports the FT.
- Musk has sought to aggressively cut costs since taking over Twitter in October 2022.
- Various lawsuits have been filed against Twitter claiming over $14 million in unpaid bills.
Elon Musk has repeatedly said “let them sue” as unpaid bills from Twitter suppliers have piled up since his takeover, the FinancialTimes reported Friday, citing a former senior executive.
After Musk took over Twitter for $44 billion, he formed a “transition team” of trusted lieutenants in November tasked with cutting costs, according to the FT. The team has frequently refused to compensate Twitter vendors, owners and partners in an effort to keep costs down, the report adds.
“Elon was always saying ‘Let them sue’, it was a constant refrain,” a former senior executive who was made redundant in recent cuts told the FT. “It’s a very short-term reflection.”
The transition team would be led by Boring Company CEO and longtime Musk associate Steve Davis, who is focused on lowering day-to-day costs at Twitter. He slashed nearly $1 billion in costs at Musk’s request, per Information.
Musk would also work with his investors to figure out how to handle the current supplier situation.
These providers range from landlords, companies like Salesforce, Adobe, and Slack, insurance providers, security, limo services, and fertility providers.
According to the FT, Pablo Mendoza, managing director of Vy Capital – which funded $700m of its $44bn Twitter takeover – helped negotiate some bills up to 90%. Mendoza sometimes plays on sellers’ emotions, telling them his job is at risk if bills aren’t reduced, the FT said.
Twitter did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment on the FT report.
Musk, who claimed he had to “save Twitter from bankruptcy” been desperately trying to cut costs since its acquisition, the most drastic measure being the dismissal of more than half of the company’s staff.
Other drastic cost-cutting measures include don’t pay rent for offices, twitter merchandise auctionand get rid of employee benefits like free lunches.
At least nine lawsuits have been filed against Twitter claiming more than $14 million plus interest, for unpaid bills, the The Wall Street Journal reported in February.
A marketing agency, Canary LLC, is sue Twitter for nearly $400,000, saying he didn’t pay for the goods.