Elon Musk’s X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, has announced the official closure date of its San Francisco headquarters, marking the end of an era for the company that began in the city nearly two decades ago.
When will X HQ permanently close?
The headquarters will permanently close on Friday, September 13, according to a report by Fortune, which cited a source familiar with the matter. Employees were informed of the closure through an internal memo circulated on Thursday. This announcement comes after Musk revealed plans to move the company’s operations to Texas. Not only, X, the Tech Mogul also moving his SpaceX HQ to Texas.
ALSO READ| Elon Musk’s AI Grok sends him and Donald Trump to prison in disturbing video: Watch
Twitter, which was launched in San Francisco in 2006, initially established its headquarters at 164 South Park Ave. The company became synonymous with the tech boom in the city and played a significant role in shaping the digital landscape of social media. However, under Musk’s ownership, significant changes have been made, including the decision to relocate the company’s headquarters.
Why Musk is moving his X HQ
The decision to move X’s headquarters out of California has been influenced by several factors. In July, Musk announced his intention to relocate both X and SpaceX, his rocket manufacturing company, from California to Texas.
Musk cited a recently enacted California law that prohibits school districts from requiring schools to inform parents if their children request to be referred to by a different pronoun as a major reason for the move. “This is the final straw,” Musk stated when announcing the decision to move X’s headquarters to Austin, Texas, and SpaceX to Starbase, Texas. “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 added in the X post.
For X employees, the closure of the San Francisco headquarters and the impending move to Texas have been huge adjustments. According to a separate report by Fortune, workers had not been previously informed about when they would be expected to relocate, but the authority didn’t mention any timeframe.
ALSO READ| Elon Musk on Brazil freezing Starlink bank accounts: ’Illegal action by a dictator
The Tesla boss also added in the thread, “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.”
Musk also expressed concerns about the conditions surrounding X’s current headquarters on San Francisco’s mid-Market Street. He complained about “gangs of violent drug addicts” that employees had to navigate “just to get in and out of the building.”
