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San Francisco

Musk’s X rebuffs lawsuit over $7M in unpaid rent at SF HQ

Rebranded Twitter calls Shorenstein and JPMorgan allegations "without merit"

Shorenstein's Brandon Shorenstein, JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon, 1355 Market Street and X's Elon Musk here (Getty, Truebeck, Shorenstein)
Shorenstein's Brandon Shorenstein, JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon, 1355 Market Street and X's Elon Musk here (Getty, Truebeck, Shorenstein)

Shorenstein and JPMorgan Chase to Elon Musk: You owe us $6.8 million in back rent on your San Francisco headquarters for X, formerly Twitter. Musk to landlords: Go pound sand.

Eight months after the San Francisco- and New York-based investors sued Twitter for rent for January and February for its hub at 1355 Market Street, X responded with a formal denial, the San Francisco Business Times reported. Later filings accused X of not paying rent all year.

The rebranded social media platform responded this week in court, saying it paid its rent for January and  February in response to the initial suit.

“Plaintiff’s first amended complaint alleges that defendant has not paid the rent for the subject premises for January and February, 2023. Defendant has, in fact, paid the rent for those months. Accordingly, plaintiff’s first amended complaint is without merit,” the company said in a court filing.

X asked the court to dismiss Shorenstein and JPMorgan’s lawsuit, and that they pay its related legal fees. 

It was the first legal response by the Musk-owned firm to its landlords’ allegations. While it was due months ago, both parties were given numerous extensions during negotiations.

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X’s Art Deco headquarters drew controversy last month when it erected a giant illuminated “X” sign on the roof, without permits. The city’s Department of Building Inspection, which received  dozens of complaints, ordered it taken down, citing safety concerns.

Early this year, the city cited Twitter for allegedly converting offices at its Market Street headquarters into sleeping quarters. An investigation is ongoing.

X has been sued by other landlords for allegedly not paying rent, with no success.

A lawsuit filed by an affiliate of New York-based KKR and San Francisco-based TMG Partners accusing Twitter of owing $1.3 million in back rent at 1330 Broadway in Downtown Oakland was dismissed in court.

Another suit by New York-based Columbia Property Trust accusing Twitter of owing $136,000 in back rent for offices at 650 California Street after Musk’s $44 billion purchase of the company was also tossed. 

— Dana Bartholomew

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