Musk says X won't leave San Francisco despite city facing 'doom spiral'

Published

2 years ago

July 31, 2023

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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.

Entertainment

Netflix takeover of Warner Bros ‘could be a problem’, Donald Trump says

Published

10 mins ago

December 8, 2025

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Netflix takeover of Warner Bros 'could be a problem', Donald Trump says

Donald Trump has said he will be “involved” in the decision on whether Netflix should be allowed to buy Warner Bros, as the $72bn (£54bn) deal attracts a media industry backlash.

The US president acknowledged in remarks to reporters there “could be a problem”, acknowledging concerns over the streaming giant’s market dominance.

Crucially, he did not say where he stood on the issue.

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It was revealed on Friday that Netflix, already the world’s biggest streaming service by market share, had agreed to buy Warner Bros Discovery’s TV, film studios and HBO Max streaming division.

The deal aims to complete late next year after the Discovery element of the business, mainly legacy TV channels showing cartoons, news and sport, has been spun off.

But the deal has attracted cross-party criticism on competition grounds, and there is also opposition in Hollywood.

The Writers Guild of America said: “The world’s largest streaming company swallowing one of its biggest competitors is what antitrust laws were designed to prevent.

“The outcome would eliminate jobs, push down wages, worsen conditions for all entertainment workers, raise prices for consumers, and reduce the volume and diversity of content for all viewers.”

Republican Senator, Roger Marshall, said in a statement: “Netflix’s attempt to buy Warner Bros would be the largest media takeover in history – and it raises serious red flags for consumers, creators, movie theaters, and local businesses alike.

“One company should not have full vertical control of the content and the distribution pipeline that delivers it. And combining two of the largest streaming platforms is a textbook horizontal Antitrust problem.

“Prices, choice, and creative freedom are at stake. Regulators need to take a hard look at this deal, and realize how harmful it would be for consumers and Western society.”

Paramount Skydance and Comcast, the parent company of Sky News, were two other bidders in the auction process that preceded the announcement.

The Reuters news agency, citing information from sources, said their bids were rejected in favour of Netflix for different reasons.

Paramount’s was seen as having funding concerns, they said, while Comcast’s was deemed not to offer so many earlier benefits.

Paramount is run by David Ellison, the son of the Oracle tech billionaire Larry Ellison, who is a close ally of Mr Trump.

The president said of the Netflix deal’s path to regulatory clearance: “I’ll be involved in that decision”.

On the likely opposition to the deal. he added: “That’s going to be for some economists to tell. But it is a big market share. There’s no question it could be a problem.”

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