Elon Musk relocates X headquarters and leaves San Francisco

Elon Musk has announced that the San Francisco headquarters of X will be closed less than two years after his acquisition of the company. The tech billionaire stated that he had "no choice" but to shut down the iconic offices, which had been home to the social media company for more than a decade. As part of his overhaul of the company, formerly known as Twitter, Musk plans to introduce an "everything app" that allows users to send and receive payments. In a post on X, he wrote: "It's impossible to operate in San Francisco if you're processing payments. That's why Stripe, Block (CashApp), and others had to move." Musk appears to be referring to financial regulations in the state, although Stripe cited a lack of available office space as the primary reason for leaving San Francisco in 2019. In an email first reported by the New York Times, X CEO Linda Yaccarino informed employees that the offices would be closed "in the coming weeks." "This is a significant decision that affects many of you, but it is the right decision for our company in the long term," she wrote. The move comes less than a month after the world's richest person announced that SpaceX would relocate its headquarters to Texas, following Tesla's move there in 2021. Musk cited his frustration with California laws, particularly a new gender identity law, as the "final straw." This law prevents schools from informing parents about their children's name or pronoun changes. Musk, who is estranged from his transgender daughter Vivian Henna Wilson, stated in a July post: "Due to this law and many others attacking families and businesses, SpaceX will now relocate its headquarters from Hawthorne, California, to Starbase, Texas." Additionally, the controversial billionaire has also moved his personal residence to Texas, which has more favorable tax laws compared to California. According to an internal memo from Yaccarino, X employees currently based in the San Francisco headquarters will relocate to offices in San Jose and Palo Alto. Musk has previously hinted that X's new headquarters will eventually be established in Austin, Texas.