'No choice' but to shut X San Francisco office - Musk

Elon Musk has said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that he has "no choice" but to move the flagship office of the social platform out of San Francisco.

The post was in response to a New York Times report about an email from X chief executive Linda Yaccarino to staff, which said the office was closing, with employees moving to San Jose and Palo Alto.

It comes just weeks after Mr Musk said he would move X and his rocket company SpaceX to Texas.

He said it was due to recent laws passed by the state - in particular a new law which prevents schools from making rules to require staff to tell anyone, including parents, information about a child's gender identity.

"No choice. It is impossible to operate in San Francisco if you’re processing payments," the technology entrepreneur said on X.

"That’s why Stripe, Block (CashApp) & others had to move," he added, hinting that it was local laws that triggered his decision.

X did not immediately reply to a BBC News request for comment.

In July, the multi-billionaire said the offices of X and SpaceX would move to Texas, after California introduced the new gender identity law.

At the time, Mr Musk called it "the last straw" in a post on X.

In response, California's Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom posted on X “You bent the knee,” along with a screenshot of a 2022 post from former President Donald Trump criticising the billionaire.

In 2022, Mr Musk bought Twitter for $44bn (£34.4bn) and immediately set about making changes at the company, including cutting jobs and reducing content moderation on the platform.

He moved Tesla's headquarters to Texas in 2021 and is a resident of the state - which has no income tax.