Twitter’s acquisition by Elon Musk is the product of the constant struggle that ensued in a lawsuit. Since Musk acquired Twitter, the picture has not changed. It has been a turbulent few months following the historic $44 billion buyout of Twitter. But, the tech billionaire is not completely out of problems. Elon has been struggling to keep Twitter financially afloat. But the problems have piled up now as an advertiser is filing a lawsuit against Twitter.
Elon Musk has been revamping Twitter since he bought the platform. The billionaire brought about various structural and policy changes since his arrival. But Musk’s acquisition has led advertisers to pull out their advertisements after activists’ lobbying. As per a report, Elon lost more than half of the top 100 advertisers. The top 50 advertisers spent $750 million on advertising in 2022. But Twitter lost $118 million in advertising after seven of its advertisers pulled out. Amid a financial crisis, Twitter got into legal trouble after an advertiser complained of overcharging.
Related: Elon Musk Lay Offs More Employees After Unsatisfactory Advertisement Business On Twitter
Michael O’Shea Sues Elon Musk-Led Twitter For Breach Of Contract
On March 31, 2023, CenturyLink’s senior relationship manager, Michael O’Shea, filed a lawsuit against Twitter at the Cuyahoga County Clerk of Courts, Ohio. Shea has sued Twitter Inc. on three counts. The three counts include a breach of contract, account, and unjust enrichment. Michael’s company wanted to place an advertisement on Twitter Ads. As per the contract, the advertisement would cost $250 for the plaintiff.
However, Michael was charged $6,200 for placing the advertisement. Despite numerous attempts to get the refund, Twitter did not reimburse him, leading to a breach of the contract. So, Michael is filing a lawsuit to procure the refund, along with “court costs and possible attorney fees.” Michael had an open account with Twitter for money transactions. Due to the breaching transaction, Twitter unjustly enriched itself with $5,952.
In Case You Missed: Elon Musk Owned Twitter Is Worth Merely $20 Million
Companies Like McDonald’s Are Worried About Musk Perpetuating Racism
Elon Musk has been employing various ways to diversify his revenue channels for the platform. He relaunched an $8 subscription fee for ‘Twitter Blue,’ citing security reasons for doling out exclusive features with badges to businesses, institutions, and celebrities. Due to the unsatisfactory performance of employees resurrecting the advertising business, Musk fired several employees.
On April 18, 2023, Elon Musk will meet with marketers and advertisers at the Possible Conference to attract advertisers. However, as per a report, advertising further fell by 42% to an estimated $53.8 million for November and December. But the industry tycoons have expressed their concerns over perpetuating racism on the platform.
Tariq Hassan, Chief Marketing and Customer Experience Officer at McDonald’s, wrote, “For many communities, his [Elon Musk’s] willingness to leverage success and personal financial resources to further an agenda under the guise of freedom of speech is perpetuating racism resulting [in] direct threats to their communities and a potential for brand safety compromise we should all be concerned about.”
Hasan added, “Further, all of us who lead our brand’s investments across platforms were required to navigate a situation post-acquisition that objectively can only be characterized as ranging from chaos to moments of irresponsibility.”
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