BusinessAnalysis

Elon Musk has his ‘er’ moment in week he tried to erase memory of Twitter

Planet Business: Barbie’s box office dream, a potted history of Joe Lewis and the highest-paid footballers at Women’s World Cup

Er: Twitter's sign is seen partially removed after San Francisco Police stopped the changing of their sign to the company's new name, "X" at Twitter's corporate headquarters office in San Francisco, California. Photograph: Josh Edelson/AFP

Laura Slattery's face
Laura Slattery
Sat Jul 29 2023 - 06:30

Image of the week: Er ...

It would take a doorstopper of a book to document in full the flaws that have revealed themselves so far in Elon Musk’s rebranding of Twitter to X, from the potential legal clashes with companies holding pre-existing trademarks and the pointlessness of trying to make a new name stick to just the general silliness of throwing away 17 years of brand equity.

But in further proof that the funniest rebranding hiccups are visual, the San Francisco police officers’ interruption of Musk’s office signage removal on Monday takes a special prize.

Work on this important task had to be stopped because although the company formerly known as Twitter apparently had the necessary work order to take the sign down, this hadn’t been communicated with security or the landlord, prompting confusion and a phone call to the police.

This meant that the Market Street side of the double-fronted sign was left intact, while on the 10th Street side, only the blue bird logo and an “er” remained – two letters that summed up what most users felt about the incomplete and inept nature of the online project.

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In numbers: Barbie in Dreamland

$356.3 million

Opening weekend box office for Greta Gerwig’s Barbie. The Warner Bros film, which beat pre-release expectations with the aid of the “Barbenheimer” phenomenon, has since passed the $400 million mark.

1

The Margot Robbie-starring Barbie, with a little help from Ryan Gosling’s “Ken-ergy”, posted the biggest first weekend box office of the year in Europe, overtaking The Super Mario Bros Movie.

$547.2 million

Sum that Refinitiv estimates Mattel will record in Barbie revenues in the third quarter of 2023, with sales boosted by the film despite the fact it is not aimed at young children.

Getting to know: Joe Lewis

Bahamas resident Joe Lewis (86) has been around a few blocks. Even if you missed his London nightclub proprietor days, his currency trading adventures, his tangential role in the “Telecom Affair” of the early 1990s, his Bear Stearns losses, his shareholding in bars and restaurants group Mitchell & Butlers, his shoulder-rubbing with elite sportsmen at his Bahamas resort and his Argentinian property controversies, you may be familiar with his status as the owner of Tottenham Hotspur.

This week, the British billionaire was charged in New York with 16 counts of securities fraud and three counts of conspiracy for allegedly orchestrating a “brazen” insider trading scheme, with prosecutors saying he passed on tips about companies in which he invested to friends, personal assistants, private pilots and romantic partners.

Lewis has now travelled to the US voluntarily to answer what his lawyer called “ill-conceived charges”. Back in 1992, he proved much more elusive when an investigator into the controversial Telecom Éireann site deal tried to track him down to answer questions related to the transaction. At the time, based on previous appearances at Irish race meetings, The Irish Times described him as “well-tanned”, “suave” and a “sharp dresser”. He has been known to show up at Spurs, but he’s really more of a yacht man.

The list: Highest earners at Women’s World Cup

Wealth-tracking publication Forbes has done the educated guesswork and the maths on the take-home pay of footballers at the FIFA Women’s World Cup. So how much can you earn a year being the best in the world at football if you’re a woman?

5. Crystal Dunn, Julie Ertz and Sophia Smith: The American trio are in joint fifth place with estimated earnings of $2 million (€1.8 million). Smith is just 22 so it’s all to play for in her career.

4. Trinity Rodman: The US forward’s combined on-pitch and off-pitch earnings arrive at $2.3 million, according to Forbes, in what is a US-centric list.

3. Alexia Putellas: Squeezing in between all the Americans is Putellas, with the Spanish midfielder estimated to earn $4 million a year.

2. Megan Rapinoe: The US veteran, responsible for one of the most glorious goal celebrations ever at the last Women’s World Cup, rakes in an estimated $7 million. This is her last World Cup.

1. Alex Morgan: The co-captain (alongside Lindsey Horan) of the US side is the highest paid female footballer in the world, earning $7.1 million, with her endorsements including deals with Coca-Cola, Google and Mexican chain Chipotle.

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