Elon Musk contributes to CRE delinquencies

 

The Financial Times reported that Elon Musk's refusal to pay Twitter's rent contributed to Goldman Sachs' commercial real estate loan delinquencies.  According to reports filed by Goldman Sachs, around $840M worth of CRE loans are behind on payments, increasing by 612% in the first quarter.  Twitter stopped paying rent last November, and Elon Musk informed employees that he does not plan on restarting payments or covering past dues.  Columbia Property, which sued Twitter over missed payment, defaulted on the loan in February.  Goldman Sachs, along with Citibank and Deutsche Bank, provided Columbia Property with a $1.7B loan against seven buildings in San Francisco and New York.  Two of the properties provide offices for Twitter.   Separate but related: Elon Musk's other company Tesla is leasing a 210,000 sq. ft plant in Fremont to make cells for batteries.