Elon Musk’s X to close its San Francisco HQ over California gender identity law

The billionaire has cited ideological reasons over financial ones for the closure of the flagship office.

Elon Musk has declared that X, formerly Twitter, will be closing its San Francisco headquarters.

The announcement followed a report by The New York Times, which disclosed an internal email from X CEO Linda Yaccarino. The email, sent earlier today, informed employees about the office's imminent closure and their reassignment to San Jose and Palo Alto. "This is an important decision that impacts many of you, but it is the right one for our company in the long term," Yaccarino noted in her message. According to the email, the San Francisco office is set to close "over the next few weeks."

No choice. It is impossible to operate in San Francisco if you’re processing payments.

That’s why Stripe, Block (CashApp) & others had to move.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 5, 2024

This decision comes just weeks after Musk revealed plans to relocate both X and SpaceX to Texas. The move is largely attributed to a new California law preventing schools from requiring staff to disclose a student's gender identity. Musk criticised the law, calling it the "last straw," viewing it as "attacking both families and companies." He also expressed frustration over safety concerns, stating he's "had enough of dodging gangs of violent drug addicts just to get in and out of the building."

In response to Musk's remarks, California Governor Gavin Newsom shared a post on X that included a 2022 statement from former President Donald Trump, criticising Musk's decisions. This situation highlights ongoing ideological tensions between Musk and California's government.

Since acquiring Twitter for $44 billion in 2022, Musk has made significant changes to the platform, including reducing the workforce and scaling back content moderation. Previously, he relocated Tesla's headquarters to Texas, attracted by the state's business-friendly environment and lack of state income tax.

Although Texas is known for its low tax burden, Musk's reasoning for the move seems to be more ideological than financial, given his outspoken criticism of California's policies.