Elon Musk slams SF Mayor London Breed over city priorities
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Elon Musk at a Halloween party in New York City. Photo: Taylor Hill/Getty Images
San Francisco officials are investigating reports that Twitter has set up sleeping quarters for employees in its Mid-Market office, prompting Elon Musk to lash out at Mayor London Breed.
Catch up quick: Forbes reported on Monday that "bedroom pods" had replaced several meeting rooms at Twitter's 1355 Market St. headquarters, an apparent effort to accommodate employees working long hours at Elon Musk's "extremely hardcore," Twitter 2.0.
- The reported remodel prompted a complaint to San Francisco's 311 service, and the city's Department of Building Inspection says it will investigate.
- Twitter hasn't filed any applications with the city to convert parts of its office for residential use, the Chronicle noted.
What they're saying: "We investigate all complaints," DBI spokesperson Patrick Hannan told the Chronicle. "We need to make sure the building is being used as intended."
- Upon news of the inquiry, Musk tweeted: "So city of SF attacks companies providing beds for tired employees instead of making sure kids are safe from fentanyl. Where are your priorities @LondonBreed !?"
- Musk linked to a report from the SF Chronicle last week, which indicated that a 10-month-old baby accidentally ingested fentanyl at Moscone Park in the Marina.
Why it matters: Layoffs and attempts to revamp the short-form social media company have dominated Musk's tenure thus far, but this week represented his first major run-in with San Francisco officials since taking over Twitter in late October.
- The scuffle has resurfaced questions over whether Musk would move the company's headquarters out of the Bay Area, like he did with Tesla last year.
Of note: Mayor Francis Suarez is already lobbying for Twitter's move to Miami, telling Musk "it's TIME."
Meanwhile, Supervisor Aaron Peskin Tuesday called for the board to hold a hearing on the reported bedroom conversions at Twitter, which he expects to happen sometime in January, he told Axios.
- Specifically, Peskin said he's concerned over whether H1-B visa holders are being exploited at the company, since there's more pressure on them to keep their jobs if they plan to stay in the U.S.
- "[Elon] is welcome to stay," Peskin told Axios. "I have dealt with my fair share of ornery, testosterone poisoned tech bros. But if he wants to keep his headquarters in San Francisco, he's got to play by our rules. And those include adhering to our public safety codes and our labor laws. If he doesn't want to do that and wants to move to Texas, don't let the door hit him in the butt."
