London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Aug 13, 2026

After Failing To Pay Office Rent, Twitter May Sell User Names

After Failing To Pay Office Rent, Twitter May Sell User Names

Twitter is planning to sell usernames in a bid to boost revenue, according to a report in the New York Times.
The report comes days after the company announced a series of cost-cutting measures, which include not paying rent on its headquarters and firing janitors in most offices. Earlier this week, the company also asked its employees in Singapore to empty their offices and vacate their desks.

Since acquiring Twitter in October last year, Elon Musk has been trying to mend the company's dire finances by aggressively paring expenses around the globe.

In the latest move, Twitter employees have held discussions about selling some usernames. Engineers have also discussed the modalities of running online auctions where people could bid for user names.

The report adds that talks about this potential revenue stream have been going on since December. Musk has already announced that Twitter will start eliminating inactive accounts.

"Twitter will soon start freeing the name space of 1.5 billion accounts," Musk tweeted in December.

It is still unclear if Twitter will start charging for usernames and if Musk's announcement was meant to be a precursor to auctioning handles.

Just weeks after taking ownership of Twitter, Musk fired about half of its 7,500-strong workforce, sparking concern that the company was insufficiently staffed to carry out content moderation and spooking governments and advertisers.

His cost-cutting efforts have also included not paying rent on its global headquarters, and it was sued over that issue last month by the landlord of its San Francisco offices.

Twitter employees in some offices have also started getting their own toilet paper to work after all janitors were laid off last month.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
China’s Kimi Launches AI-Focused Credit Card With Agricultural Bank of China and American Express
UK Residents Gather to Watch Rare Partial Solar Eclipse
Reform UK Deputy Leader Richard Tice Faces Criticism Over Legal Threat Against Guardian Journalist
Michael Forsyth Elected Speaker of the House of Lords
Cambridge Researchers Launch £20 Million Human Organoid Drug Testing Programme
Heathrow Loses European Passenger Traffic Lead to Istanbul Airport
Households Near New UK Electricity Pylons to Receive £250 Annual Energy Bill Discount
UK Government Estimates Zero-Hours Contract Ban Could Cost Employers Up to £3 Billion a Year
Robert Jenrick Leaves Conservatives for Reform UK in Major Parliamentary Defection
UK Police Chiefs Urge Government to Block Early Release of Andrew Harper Killers
UK Government Holds Emergency Cobra Meeting as Drought and Heatwave Raise Wildfire Risks
Former Labour Adviser Arrested on Suspicion of Spying for China Held Privileged Access as Top Party Donor
Turkish Parliament Passes Landmark Bill Granting Conditional Amnesty to Disarmed PKK Members
Donald Trump Warns FIFA Against Ousting Gianni Infantino Amid Revolt by Global Football Leaders
Jeff Bezos Joins Investor Group Closing In on $6 Billion Liverpool FC Stake
Police Conduct Cross-Border Raids Against Northern England Drug Network
Nicola Sturgeon Protested at Edinburgh Festival Fringe Event
Major UK Retail Chain Enters Administration With One Hundred Fifty-Four Stores Set to Close
Heathrow Renews Call for Runway Expansion After Losing Europe’s Busiest Airport Ranking
Government Condemns One Million Pound Thames Water Executive Bonus Amid Drought
NHS England Says More Than One Hundred Thousand Hepatitis C Patients Have Been Cured
UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband Calls for End to West Bank Settler Violence
UK Prepares for Deepest Partial Solar Eclipse Since Nineteen Ninety-Nine
UK Heatwave Triggers Amber Health Alerts as Economic Losses Reach Four Point Four Billion Pounds
UK Offers Electricity Bill Discounts to Communities Hosting New Power Infrastructure
Bank of England Expected to Hold Interest Rates at Three Point Seven Five Percent
UK Government Moves to Ban Subscription Traps and Misleading Retail Discounts
Andy Burnham Gives Councils New Powers to Block Betting and Vape Shops
UK Councils to Receive Sweeping Planning Powers to Ban New Vape and Betting Shops
Nicola Sturgeon Says She Has No Contact With Estranged Husband After SNP Embezzlement Case
Police Arrest Two Men After Aberdeenshire Defense Technology Office Break-In
Greater Manchester Councils Gain Powers to Restrict New Vape and Betting Shops
Coroner Finds Treasury Workplace Failures Contributed to Personal Assistant’s Suicide
English and Welsh Courts Ban Meta Smart Glasses Over Recording and Privacy Risks
Strait of Hormuz Disruption Could Double UK Inflation and Trigger Recession, Forecasters Warn
UK Expands Global Talent Visa Scheme to Support Research-Intensive Companies
UK Equity Funds Suffer Record One Point Six Billion Pound Outflow Amid Capital Gains Tax Fears
Three-Quarters of England Enters Drought as Fifth Summer Heatwave Raises Economic Risks
UK Hiring Stabilizes for First Time Since 2022 as Employers Adjust to Higher Payroll Costs
UK Chancellor Orders Whitehall Spending Cuts as Public Debt Exceeds Three Trillion Pounds
UK Manufacturing Output Records Fourth Straight Month of Growth
UK Condemns Russian Torture of Ukrainian Prisoners and Recruitment of Foreign Nationals
Long-Lost Royal Navy Warship HMS Tiger Found in English Channel After 118 Years
Northern Ireland Finance Minister Seeks Urgent Treasury Talks Over Regional Budget Pressures
UK Government Targets Subscription Traps and Misleading Discounts in New Consumer Rules
Alleged Cartel Boss Daniel Kinahan Extradited From Dubai to Face Criminal Charges
AI Chatbots Challenge Traditional News Consumption and Raise Job Concerns
Andy Burnham Government Promises Crackdown on Exploitative Business Practices
UK University Funding Model Faces Growing Pressure From Unsustainable Student Debt
Government Urged to Subsidise Energy Bills for Vulnerable UK Households
×