I feel like we need an obituary for Twitter’s pullout of San Francisco. Elon Musk’s social media company, X, is set to close its San Francisco office in the coming weeks and move to South Bay.
It is an end to an era no one particularly asked for, and given Musk’s penchant for nuclear takes on politics and the state of San Francisco generally, no one’s saddened by the loss.
“Elon came in, immediately laid off employees while enjoying the tax breaks for SF Mid-Market companies; continued layoffs as well as just negatively talking about the city and never offering any help or solutions,” said Victoria Cooke Offenhartz, a San Francisco resident.
“He just takes, and especially at this time of economic challenges — it will impact the city a bit, but it’s time for him to go,” she added.
I personally remember some good times. Everyone was mad at then-mayor Ed Lee for ushering in a payroll tax break to get them here. I worked across the street at Fox Plaza, and the area felt dead as a doorknob before Twitter arrived. BLICK Art Materials had opened nearby, and at their ribbon cutting, I remember my first conversations about cleaning up feces and syringes on Market Street; It was 2011.
Things never fully turned around, but the neighborhood felt a lot livelier. Luxury apartment building NEMA opened nearby, and it felt like every week I was at a gay housewarming, movie night, or um — other activities. “Tech bro” was still a term but not without a huge spoonful of the LGBTQ+ rainbow.
Elon is — yeah — not queer friendly nowadays. And I think what people want more than anything right now is some cathartic purging.
“Good riddance. They’re a scourge on society,” said Bay Area resident Daniel Filipkowski. “They don’t pay their bills or their rent. Their employees don’t engage with the local community, nor do they patronize the local cafes or restaurants since they have their own cafeteria inside.”
Added Thomas Binz, an Oakland resident: “Twitter had some moral focus before a narcissist space boy took over. With the current stances and ideology Twitter no longer has space in the Bay Area.”
But in the Bay Area they’ll remain. In an email circulated to X employees, CEO Linda Yaccarino informed the company that they would relocate to existing offices in San Jose, California, while a new engineering-focused office in Palo Alto would be shared with Musk’s AI venture, xAI.
Founded as Twitter in San Francisco in 2006, the company moved its headquarters to the Mid-Market area in 2012. Since Musk’s acquisition of Twitter in 2022, the company has stopped paying rent to Shorenstein, the real estate firm managing its office at 1355 Market Street, and attempted to save costs by converting some office space into bedrooms for employees.
“Good riddance to X,” said Scott Anderson, a San Francisco-based software developer. “The city should help fill the building with startups having missions that include transforming the city in positive ways and spaces for community meetups.”
Not everyone feels happy about the departure, even though most people seem to be.
“Sad but not a surprise,” said Sonoma resident Michael E. “With the sad, sad state of Twitter now, we’ll remember what was.”
Saul Sugarman is editor in chief of The Bold Italic.
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