Elon Musk said downtown San Francisco “feels post-apocalyptic” in a recent tweet.
Musk’s comment was in reply to a Twitter thread discussing the news that Nordstrom would be closing both of its stores in downtown San Francisco by August. The company stated that while it was a tough decision, the “dynamics” of the area have “changed dramatically.” The announcement came just weeks after Whole Foods closed its downtown location after only being open for a year.
“So many stores shuttered in downtown SF. Feels post-apocalyptic,” he tweeted, followed by another tweet: “The philosophy that led to this bleak outcome will be the end of civilization if extended to the world.”
So many stores shuttered in downtown SF. Feels post-apocalyptic.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 4, 2023
Since 2020, at least 20 retailers have shuttered business in San Francisco’s downtown area, 11 of which closed in 2023 alone, according to The San Francisco Standard.
Musk hasn’t been shy about sharing his feelings about San Francisco, where the Twitter headquarters are located. In April, the tech CEO tweeted that one could film an episode of The Walking Dead “unedited” in downtown San Francisco.
You could literally film a Walking Dead episode unedited in downtown SF.
This is where San Francisco politics leads and Twitter was exporting this self-destructive mind virus to the world.
With some exceptions, other tech companies are still doing so.
Evil in guise of good.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 1, 2023
Just a few days later, in the wake of Cash App founder Bob Lee’s murder, Musk called violent crime in the city “horrific” — which was later met with backlash by District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, who called his statements “reckless and irresponsible,” as Lee was murdered by someone he knew, and was not a random act of violence.
Related: A Suspect Has Been Arrested in Killing of Cash App Founder Bob Lee
“Statements like those contained in Mr. Musk’s tweet that assumed incorrect circumstances about Mr. Lee’s death served to mislead the world in their perceptions of San Francisco,” Jenkins said in a statement, per NBC Bay Area.
While violent crime in San Francisco is relatively low, instances of robbery and theft occur in the thousands each year, according to city police data. It also ranked second as the city most affected by organized retail crime in 2021 and 2020, according to a 2022 survey by the National Retail Federation.