Elon Musk, the billionaire visionary behind Tesla, has embarked on a new venture to part ways with the legacy of Twitter’s past.
Following his acquisition of the social media company for a staggering $44 billion just last year and the subsequent rebranding process, Musk is now orchestrating an intriguing event. An online auction, known as the “Twitter Rebranding,” is scheduled to run from September 12 to September 14, presenting potential buyers with an array of intriguing items, including memorabilia, art pieces, office furnishings, and assorted items.
Within this distinctive assortment of 584 lots, prospective bidders can discover a diverse selection of items that once echoed the former Twitter identity. Among these lots, intriguing pieces beckons, such as a DJ booth that likely witnessed countless online trends, a coffee table artfully fashioned to resemble Twitter’s iconic bird logo, an assortment of musical instruments, an array of distinctive furniture pieces, captivating wall art adorned with Twitter-themed imagery, and a gallery of paintings.
Interestingly, the initial bidding for all these remarkable artifacts starts at an accessible $25. An intriguing highlight is the original Twitter sign that still graces the X headquarters on San Francisco’s 10th Street. The acquisition of this particular sign, however, comes with an additional responsibility, requiring the buyer to hire a licensed company in San Francisco that holds the necessary permits to facilitate its removal from the building.
As part of the auction’s terms, all winning bids will be subject to a 19% buyer’s premium in addition to the applicable sales tax. Such an arrangement underscores these artifacts’ significance and unique allure within the context of Twitter’s transformation under Musk’s stewardship.
Musk’s takeover of Twitter has been accompanied by considerable financial turbulence, marked by a plummet in the company’s value by 66%. Factors contributing to this downturn encompass a mass departure of advertisers, negative cash flow, and a notable debt burden. The organization’s internal structure also experienced significant change, with a substantial workforce reduction through layoffs and voluntary resignations. Concurrently, the platform encountered technical glitches and disruptions.
Previously, Musk had already orchestrated an auction to alleviate financial strains. One remarkable outcome of this initiative was the sale of a statue bearing Twitter’s distinctive bird logo for an impressive $100,000 earlier in the year. Striving to stabilize the company’s finances, Musk introduced premium paid subscriptions, brought onboard former NBCUniversal advertising chief Linda Yaccarino as CEO to court advertisers, and made strategic moves such as closing a data center.
Musk’s inclination towards incorporating X-themed merchandise into the company’s offerings appears apparent in a recent post on the X platform. However, the renaming of Twitter and the rebranding efforts have met with enthusiasm and skepticism. While Musk asserts the rationale behind the change, and CEO Yaccarino expresses the opportunity for a fresh impression, critics and experts have cautioned against the potential erosion of the company’s value, projecting a loss of up to $20 billion due to the rebranding. Furthermore, users of the platform harbor doubts about the new moniker’s longevity.
Complicating matters, reports suggest that Meta, the parent company of Facebook, might possess the rights to the “X” trademark, casting a legal shadow over Twitter’s rebranding endeavor. Additionally, the rebranding initiative has resulted in tensions with San Francisco authorities. The removal of the Twitter sign from X headquarters was met with police interference. In contrast, city officials swiftly undid the installation of a prominent “X” sign atop the building. San Francisco Mayor London Breed emphasized the equal application of rules for all, underlining that no entity should be above compliance.