Opinion: Elon Musk's Announcement is Terrible News for San Francisco's Tenderloin

Photo byGado Images

Elon Musk, the owner of X (the social network formerly known as Twitter), announced plans to shut down the company’s San Francisco, California office. Musk says he plans to move the company to Texas.

This announcement is bad for San Francisco in general, as it falls into the doom loop narrative about companies leaving the city.

It’s even worse news for the Tenderloin neighborhood. The Tenderloin and nearby Civic Center neighborhoods (where X is based) have faced many challenges, including crime and drug use since the pandemic.

The presence of several high-profile businesses and institutions in the Civic Center and Tenderloin neighborhoods has helped to stabilize the area.

These include the Orpheum Theater, Hastings Law School, the Asian Art Museum, and formerly the headquarters of X.

Photo byGado Images

The headquarters, in particular, is located in a historic Art Deco building just outside the bounds of the Tenderloin. The presence of highly compensated tech workers had previously helped support small local businesses. I visited a vegan restaurant right on the corner that was clearly catering to X employees.

With X leaving, a vital source of street activity and revenue will also leave the Civic Center and Tenderloin neighborhoods. That could be a big blow to the area.

That may be exactly what Elon Musk intends. He has made a variety of comments about San Francisco and recently endorsed former President Donald Trump. By moving his company’s headquarters out of San Francisco, he may be sending a message about his feelings regarding the city’s management, and about Democratic cities more generally.

Despite the departure, there are still several institutions doing quite well in the area. Many people ride BART to the Civic Center stop to see shows, including touring Broadway productions, in the neighborhood. Hopefully, the departure will just be one blip in the long story of this area’s recovery.

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