Elon Musk Says He 'Saved' Twitter From Bankruptcy
The billionaire says the last few months were a "pain" he would not "wish on anyone."
By Gabrielle Bienasz •
Elon Musk — who purchased Twitter in October for $44 billion — now says that the company is close to breaking even.
"Last 3 months were extremely tough, as had to save Twitter from bankruptcy, while fulfilling essential Tesla & SpaceX duties. Wouldn't wish that pain on anyone," he wrote in a Tweet.
He added that the company still has "challenges" but is now "trending to breakeven."
Related: San Francisco Orders Twitter to Stop Using Conference Rooms as Bedrooms or Get a New Permit
However, Twitter is now a private company, which means it does not have to complete filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and, therefore, there is no objective means to evaluate Musk's claims.
In December, Musk described Twitter as previously having been on "the fast lane to bankruptcy." The company's financial reports showed it had not made a profit since 2019, per the Wall Street Journal. Musk also took on debt financing to buy the company.
Musk then set about cutting costs amid a difficult environment for tech workers. He laid off about half of Twitter's staff and dramatically altered its culture, removing work-from-home and a monthly, company-wide, paid day off, and telling employees they needed to be "extremely hardcore."
Remaining employees are reportedly sleeping in the office, and lawsuits from former employees are piling up, per the BBC.
One laid-off Twitter employee, who is attempting legal action, told the BBC that Twitter's purpose "went to garbage when Elon bought the company."
He has also reportedly stopped paying the company's rent. A few entities, including a marketing company, a landlord in San Francisco, and the UK's Crown Estate have come after the company for what they have said is Twitter not paying its bills.
Related: Twitter Sued for Unpaid Rent at San Francisco HQ Following Musk Takeover
Musk's Tweet was in response to a WSJ article that used Musk's testimony in a recent, unrelated trial from a Tesla, as well as other public statements, to discuss the CEO's notoriously punishing schedule — over 120 hours of work a week, Musk has said, and his complaints of intense back pain.
