Musk's X Rises in Silicon Valley... City Reaction: "Refreshing"

Conflict with City over Political Orientation
Employment and Tax Revenue Effects Also Decline

The social networking service (SNS) 'X (formerly Twitter)' plans to relocate its headquarters from San Francisco, the cradle of Silicon Valley in the United States. However, there are claims that the city authorities actually welcome X's departure, drawing attention.

On the 25th (local time), the US daily newspaper The New York Times (NYT) reported, "Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, has moved X out of San Francisco, but the city authorities responded with 'Good Riddance'." San Francisco had attracted big tech headquarters through radical tax reduction policies for tech companies, but it does not seem to regret X's relocation.

X's San Francisco Headquarters
[Image Source=Reuters Yonhap News]

Previously, X was established in San Francisco in 2006 when it was still Twitter, and it is said to have maintained a close relationship with San Francisco for the past 18 years. However, after the new owner changed to CEO Musk and the corporate name was changed to X, the relationship became strained. The 'uncomfortable coexistence' between X and San Francisco is mostly attributed to CEO Musk's political stance.

CEO Musk opposed the 'AB1955' bill related to LGBTQ+ students signed by California Governor Gavin Newsom and has continuously criticized San Francisco's poor public safety issues. Ultimately, CEO Musk moved X's headquarters to Austin, Texas last month and decided to completely close the San Francisco office. Employees who worked in San Francisco now work in nearby cities such as Palo Alto and San Jose.

In fact, this is not the first time X has attempted to relocate its headquarters. In 2011, when it was still Twitter, preparations were underway to move to nearby Brisbane, but the plan was scrapped after San Francisco offered tax incentives. Regarding this, attorney David Chu told the media, "Most San Francisco residents view X's relocation as 'fortunate'." Additionally, London Breed, Mayor of San Francisco, drew a line by saying, "I met CEO Musk once a few months ago and exchanged texts with him, but I did not request the (X headquarters) to remain."

Although there is tension between CEO Musk and San Francisco's progressive politicians, the relatively small employment impact of X also contributed to the current atmosphere. The NYT pointed out that during Twitter's heyday, the number of employees working at the headquarters exceeded 7,000, but after CEO Musk took over, two-thirds of the employees were laid off. It also explained that X's deteriorating advertising performance has failed to positively impact the local economy. Economist Ted Egan told the media, "X has already shrunk so much that relocating (the headquarters) does not pose a significant problem for the city's finances," adding, "It has already lost its presence in many ways."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.