Billionaire Elon Musk says Twitter the social media company he is in the midst of rebranding as “X” will keep its headquarters in San Francisco despite the “doom loop” the city is facing as big-name businesses head for the exits.
Musk, who led a group of investors in acquiring Twitter that took the company private in a $44 billion deal last year, tweeted Saturday that the companys headquarters will remain in San Francisco despite receiving offers aimed at enticing the company to relocate.
“Many have offered rich incentives for X (fka Twitter) to move its HQ out of San Francisco. Moreover, the city is in a doom spiral with one company after another left or leaving. Therefore, they expect X will move too. We will not,” Musk explained.
“You only know who your real friends are when the chips are down. San Francisco, beautiful San Francisco, though others forsake you, we will always be your friend,” Musks tweet concluded.
San Franciscos economy has suffered from an exodus of businesses and residents in the last few years, creating a “doom loop” in which a local government enters a downward fiscal spiral as its tax base declines.
An urban doom loop involves a decline in workers present in offices in city centers, which results in businesses shrinking their office footprint and rental overhead.
The decline in demand causes real estate prices to fall, which in turn reduces property tax revenue while other sources of tax revenue, like sales tax, also take a hit due to the reduced traffic in downtown areas.
As the overall tax base declines, it becomes harder for city governments to fund public services like law enforcement as theyre forced to make trade-offs that include things like budget cuts or tax hikes to stabilize their finances both of which can drive more businesses and residents to depart if those policies have a negative effect on the economic climate or overall quality of life.
The growing popularity of remote work has accelerated that trend, decreasing the number of workers heading to the office on a daily basis as it becomes easier than ever for workers to live in suburban and rural areas without commuting.
The tech-heavy economy of San Francisco and criticisms of the city governments record on public safety issues have made it a case study in the dynamics that drive urban doom loops.
According to data from the Census Bureau, the population of San Francisco County declined by 7.5% from April 1, 2020, to July 1, 2022.
Commercial real estate firm CBRE released data in early July that showed that San Francisco had an overall office vacancy rate of 31.6% in the second quarter of 2023.
The CBRE report noted that in the last quarter “negative net absorption accelerated due to slow leasing activity, combined with a high volume of lease expirations and several new sublease listings.
This resulted in 1.83 million sq. ft. of occupancy loss, which increased the market-wide vacancy rate from 29.4% to 31.6%.”
Although Twitter isnt relocating its headquarters, the company has sought to shrink its office footprint in San Francisco and faced a lawsuit from its landlord earlier this year over unpaid rent although the social media company has faced similar suits at offices in Denver, Oakland and London since Musk acquired Twitter and began a broad cost-cutting push to stabilize its finances.
Amid Twitters rebrand to X, city officials filed a complaint and opened an investigation into whether the company had the proper permits to install an illuminated “X” atop its downtown headquarters.
Police had stopped the installation last week but later said there was a “misunderstanding” and that the incident was not a police matter.
City officials say a permit is required to change letters or signs on buildings or to erect a new sign on top of a building.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Julian Sayin threw three touchdown passes, including a 35-yarder to Jeremiah Smith on a fourth down in the second quarter, and No. 1 Ohio State beat No. 15 Michigan 27-9 in a dominant performance on Saturday.
The defending national champion Buckeyes (12-0, 9-0 Big Ten, No. 1 CFP) likely earned a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff. They can keep their top seed with a win against No. 2 Indiana (12-0, 9-0, No. 2 CFP) in the conference championship game Saturday night in Indianapolis.
Ryan Day should sleep well, a year after losing The Game when his team was favored by about three touchdowns. The upset extended his losing streak in the series to four games and sparked speculation he might also lose his job.
The Wolverines (9-3, 7-2) started strong with two field goals and an interception on the first three possessions of the game, but couldn’t generate pressure when Ohio State wanted to pass.
After throwing an interception on his second snap, redshirt freshman Sayin took advantage of the time and space he had to throw.
Sayin was 6 of 6 for 68 yards with two touchdowns on third and fourth down in the first half, including a 4-yard throw to Brandon Inniss with 16 seconds left that made it 17-9 at the break. He finished 19 of 26 for 233 yards and threw for at least three touchdowns for the sixth time this season.
Tulane coach Jon Sumrall has emerged as the clear favorite to be the next head coach of the Florida Gators, sources told ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
Florida turned its attention away from Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin earlier this week after getting the sense through irregular communication that he is interested in other options, likely a move to LSU or remaining with the Rebels, sources told ESPN on Friday.
Sumrall is expected to make a decision on his future by Sunday morning as he considers staying at Tulane or a move to Gainesville. He also received significant interest from Auburn, but the Tigers have since shifted their focus to other candidates, another indicator that Florida looms as the clear leader for Sumrall’s services, sources said.
Sumrall, a former SEC player at Kentucky, where he later served as an assistant coach and co-defensive coordinator, is 18-7 in two seasons at Tulane. He also won back-to-back Sun Belt titles as head coach at Troy in 2022 and 2023.
Sumrall, 43, garnered outside interest after his first season with Tulane, earning a contract extension after just one season at the helm.
Tulane (9-2) hosts Charlotte on Saturday night in its regular-season finale. The Green Wave can clinch a spot in the American Conference championship game against North Texas with a win over the 49ers.
Grief was not lonely today in Hong Kong. Three days after the worst fire in the history of modern Hong Kong, it feels as though it has barely sunk in.
The weekend at least lent them time to pay tribute, and gave them some space to reflect.
People came in droves to lay flowers, so many a queuing system was needed.
Image: People queue with flowers near the site to mourn the victims of the deadly fire. Pic: AP
Official books of condolences were also set up in multiple parts of the city.
It was the first day large teams of investigators were able to enter the site. Dozens of them in hazmat suits were bused in, their work the grimmest of tasks.
Every so often you could see a flashlight peep through the window of an upper blackened window, a reminder that the fire services are still undertaking dangerous work.
But the reach of the authorities is ramping up here.
Image: Firefighters walk through the burned buildings after the deadly fire. Pic: AP
Yesterday a grass roots aid distribution centre was the vibrant heart of the response.
They received notice at 4am that they needed to pack up and move on. By 10.30am, the mountains of donations were gone, residents watched on, bewildered.
The task apparently will be handed over to professional NGOs.
“I think the government’s biggest concern is due to some past incidents,” one organiser tells us. “They may liken this to previous events. The essence looks similar.”
Image: Pic: AP
She’s careful with her words, but she’s clearly hinting at major pro-democracy protests that were crushed by authorities in 2019.
Any sort of mass gathering is now seen as a risk, the system is still very nervous.
And they might well be because people here are angry.
What, they ask, did the government know? What did it choose to ignore?
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3:14
How Hong Kong’s government failed to act on fire fears
Indeed, Sky News has learnt that residents raised their fears over fire safety connected to extensive renovations on Wang Fuk Court as early as September 2024.
They flagged the suspected flammability of green nets being used to cover the building.
An email response from the Labour Department was sent a few months later to Jason Poon, a civil engineer-turned-activist, who was working with residents. It insists that “the mesh’s flame retardant properties meet safety standards”.
But many clearly didn’t believe it. Posts spanning many months on a residents’ Facebook group continued to voice their fears.
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3:14
Hong Kong fire survivors supported by community
When a much smaller fire broke out in the city last month, one resident posted: “All the materials outside are flammable, I feel really worried.”
“I feel that same way” another replied. “The government has no sense of concern.”
For Poon, who dedicates much of his time to fighting lax safety standards in Hong Kong’s construction industry, the whole experience has been devastating.
“They knew all the maintenance was using corner-cutting materials, but they didn’t do anything,” he says.
“This is a man-made disaster.”
We put these allegations to Hong Kong’s Labour Department but they have not yet responded to our request for comment.
Grief may still be the prominent force here, but anger is not that far behind.