Elon Musk to completely shut down X’s San Francisco headquarters

Controversial billionaire has already moved SpaceX and Tesla headquarters to Texas

The X sign is seen on the roof of the headquarters of the social media platform previously known as Twitter, in San Francisco, on 29 July, 2023 (Getty Images)

Elon Musk has announced that he will shut down the San Francisco headquarters of X less than two years after taking over the company.

The tech billionaire claimed he had “no choice” but to close the iconic offices that have been home to the social media firm for more than a decade.

As part of his overhaul of the company, previously called Twitter, Mr Musk plans to create an “everything app” that allows users to also send and receive payments.

“It is impossible to operate in San Francisco if you’re processing payments,” he wrote in a post on X. “That’s why Stripe, Block (CashApp) and others had to move.”

Mr Musk appears to be referring to financial regulations in the state, though Stripe cited a lack of available office space in San Francisco as its primary reason for leaving the city in 2019.

In an email to staff, first reported by the New York Times, X chief executive Linda Yaccarino announced that the offices will be closed “over the next few weeks”.

“This is an important decision that impacts many of you, but it is the right one for our company in the long term,” she wrote.

The move comes less than a month after the world’s wealthiest person announced that SpaceX would be moving its headquarters to Texas, having previously moved his other company Tesla there in 2021 over frustration about Californian laws.

He described a new gender identity law as the “final straw”, as it will prevent schools in the state from informing parents of their decision to change their name or pronouns. Mr Musk is estranged from his transgender daughter Vivian Henna Wilson, who applied to legally remove her father’s surname in 2022.

“Because of this law and the many others that preceded it, attacking both families and companies, SpaceX will now move its HQ from Hawthorne, California, to Starbase, Texas,” he wrote in a post in July.

“I did make it clear to Governor Newsom about a year ago that laws of this nature would force families and companies to leave California to protect their children.”

The controversial billionaire has also moved his personal residence to Texas, which has more favourable tax laws compared to California.

X employees currently based at the San Francisco headquarters will be moved to offices in San Jose and Palo Alto, according to Ms Yaccarino’s internal memo. Mr Musk has previously indicated that the new headquarters of X will eventually be set up in Austin, Texas.