X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, will leave behind its San Francisco headquarters, more than a decade after the one-time social media juggernaut first opened in the heart of Silicon Valley.
The company is expected to migrate to existing offices in San Jose “over the next few weeks,” according to an internal email that CEO Linda Yaccarino sent to employees on Monday.
“We will work to transition to our new primary locations in the Bay Area including the existing office in San Jose and a new engineering focused shared space with XAl in Palo Alto,” the email read. “Leadership is actively working on plans, including transportation options, for those directly impacted.”
The decision to leave San Francisco behind follows Elon Musk – the platform’s owner – threatening to move the company to Texas, in the wake of California’s SAFETY Act.
The bill, which was signed into law last month, bans schools from implementing rules that require parents be notified if their child identifies as transgender. Moreover, the legislation would require the State Department to provide resources to support LGBTQ+ identifying children, according to the filing.
“This is the final straw,” Musk said on X, in July. “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.”
Weeks later, Musk caused controversy when he said that his estranged daughter Vivian Wilson was “killed” after she received gender-affirming care, which caused him to vow to “destroy the woke mind virus.”
Wilson subsequently gave an interview to NBC News in which she described Musk as a narcissist and an absent father who berated her for her femininity.
“We went on this road trip that I didn’t know was actually just an advertisement for one of the cars — I don’t remember which one — and he was constantly yelling at me viciously because my voice was too high,” she said. “It was cruel.”
X has long been one of the flagship tech companies in San Francisco after first opening its doors in 2006. During the Twitter era, the company even received tax breaks from the local government. Since Musk took over, however, X has experienced extensive corporate turmoil. The company stopped paying rent to Shorenstein, the real estate company that owns its San Francisco office space.
Francisco Velasquez contributed reporting.
