The iconic bird logo of Twitter, which was removed from its former headquarters in San Francisco, has sold for nearly $35,000 at an auction, reports said on Saturday.
The blue bird logo of erstwhile Twitter was removed when Elon Musk took over the social media company and rebranded it to X.
RR Auction, which deals in “rare and collectible items” said the 254 kg sign, which measured 12 feet by 9 feet sold for $34,375, according to a report by the Associated Press. It did not name the buyer.
Musk had previously auctioned off other items from the former Twitter, ranging from signs and memorabilia to more mundane items such as kitchen equipment and office furniture.
Other tech history items that fetched sizable sums in the auction included an Apple-1 computer with accessories sold for $375,000, an Apple Computer Co. check signed by Steve Jobs in 1976 for $112,054 and a first-generation 4GB iPhone, sealed in its package, for $87,514.
X in talks to raise $44 billion
Last month, Bloomberg reported that Elon Musk’s X social media platform is in talks to raise money from investors at a $44 billion valuation.
Musk bought X, formerly Twitter, for the same price in 2022, but some investors including Fidelity Investments have sharply written down the value of their stake as the platform struggled to retain advertisers after the takeover.
The reported talks came as valuations of Musk’s other companies soared after the victory of Donald Trump in the U.S. presidential race.
Musk’s close ties with Trump and return of some advertisers to X have lifted expectations of better finances at the platform. That has helped banks offload the debt they issued to support Musk’s Twitter buyout, a source told Reuters earlier in February.
Banks, led by Morgan Stanley, sold another chunky portion of loans that formed the $13 billion debt supporting Musk’s acquisition, as the deal found broad interest from large fund managers attracted by the prospect of improving revenue of X.
(With inputs from AP and Reuters)
