Twitter/X To Leave San Francisco

Photo of Elon Musk – Credit: JD Lasica

Elon Musk is reigniting his one-sided war with San Francisco by making good on his threat to move X (or Twitter) out of the city. But unfortunately, he’s not going far. While it has been reported that Musk was moving the company to Texas, it appears the headquarters won’t be going any further south than the South Bay to pre-existing office space the company has leased in San Jose. At least for the time being.

CEO Linda Yaccarino announced this decision in an internal email, explaining that while it affects many employees, it’s the best move for the company’s long-term future. London Breed’s office acknowledged the company’s move, emphasizing their commitment to supporting businesses in the city, from global HQs to local small businesses.

While this move does seem to be politically motivated, I don’t think the average San Franciscan will care that much. The city has weathered roughly 4 years of negative headlines as ‘Doom Loop’ mania swept the nation and everyone presumptively called San Francisco Detroit because they saw a homeless person outside.

According to Musk, it was a new California gender law that was the “last straw.”

The news also seems to feed Musk’s unending need for news coverage. If Musk does in fact move the company to Austin, Texas, which ironically serves as Texas’ sweaty equivalent to San Francisco, Musk will likely find some reason to complain before he finally bites the bullet and announces Twitter is moving to Mars.

Fuck him. The reality is that Twitter or X will still be on your phones. The internet has essentially rendered physical space irrelevant. He could announce the headquarters was relocating up his ass and that to avoid sexual harassment allegations no would have to enter the office (his ass) and work remote.

Some people will be negatively affected by this. Small business owners on Market Street have been struggling ever since the Pandemic started and having less techies Downtown certainly won’t make things easier for them.

Downtown needs to desperately reinvent itself so the city isn’t victim to the whims of attention-seeking billionaires. Maybe Matt Haney’s initiative to convert office space into housing will find its way to Twitter’s headquarters. Or maybe it won’t. Either way, despite Elon Musk’s headline-grabbing tech drama, tech isn’t leaving San Francisco or the Bay Area.

It’s just pretending to so that city leaders will bend the knee to big tech. That’s why Garry Tan Tweets and Elon Musk moves. It’s an attempt to make the city better for them and suck more for you.

There was a world and a San Francisco before the internet existed, and according to my research and the people I’ve spoken to, it was better.

Goodbye Twitter.

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