American billionaire Elon Musk announced that he will be closing the headquarters of social media X in San Francisco.
He has already moved the headquarters of his companies, SpaceX and electric car company Tesla, from California to Texas.
Musk stated that due to not having any other options, he had to shut down the iconic office of X, which had been stationed for over a decade. X was originally known as Twitter, which Musk took over just two years ago.
Musk hopes to transform X into a versatile application where users can also send and receive payments.
In a post on X, he wrote, “It’s not feasible to enter the payment business in San Francisco. This is why companies like Stripe, Block (CashApp), and others had to relocate.”
Musk seems to be implying that California’s financial regulations make it difficult for companies to enter the payment industry. Stripe left California in 2019 citing a lack of available office space in San Francisco.
X CEO Linda Yaccarino announced in an email to employees that the office will be closed in the coming weeks.
“This is a significant decision that affects many of you, but in the long run, it’s the right decision for our company,” she wrote.
According to an internal memo from Yaccarino, X employees currently working in the San Francisco headquarters will temporarily relocate to offices in San Jose and Palo Alto.
In mid-July, Musk revealed that he will be moving the headquarters of X and SpaceX to Texas. Previously, due to his disappointment with California laws, his other company Tesla had already relocated to Texas in 2021.
Musk mentioned that a new gender identity law recently passed in California was the final straw that led him to decide to leave. This law will prevent schools from informing parents about their children’s transgender decisions.
“Due to this law, along with many previous legal impacts on families and companies, SpaceX will immediately relocate its headquarters from Hawthorne, California to Starbase, Texas,” he wrote. “A year ago, I clearly told Governor Gavin Newsom that laws like this would force families and companies to leave California to protect their children.”
“Starbase” is the SpaceX company’s rocket launch site located in Boca Chica, Texas.
Musk has already moved his personal residence to Texas, where tax laws are more favorable than in California.