Elon Musk San Francisco HQ Gets New AI Tenant

After years of sitting half-empty, Elon Musk’s former San Francisco headquarters is finally welcoming a new tenant. The building at 1355 Market Street — once home to Twitter, now X — has secured its first sublease, and fittingly, it’s an artificial intelligence startup.

AI company Motive, formerly known as KeepTruckin, has taken over 40,000 square feet on the 11th floor of the Mid-Market tower. The deal runs through April 2029, according to JLL broker Mike Sample, who confirmed the lease. Motive has already updated its website to reflect the new address. The San Francisco Business Times was first to report the deal.

A rare win for San Francisco’s struggling Mid-Market

The Mid-Market area — which some are now trying to rebrand as “Lower Hayes” — has been one of the city’s hardest-hit districts, with soaring office vacancies, crime, and shuttered businesses since the pandemic. Still, brokers say startups are starting to show interest again.

“It’s some of the nicest tech space in the city,” Sample said of the 1355 Market building, noting that companies from small startups to global AI giants have toured the property.

Despite Motive’s arrival, much of the building remains empty. Roughly 740,000 square feet at 1355 Market and the adjacent One 10th Street is still available for sublease, with some of it sitting vacant since 2020.

Rebranding “Mid-Market” as “Lower Hayes”

JLL, which took over leasing efforts for the building last summer, is pushing the “Lower Hayes” label in hopes of shedding the district’s negative reputation. The name ties the neighborhood to nearby Hayes Valley, a lively area full of restaurants, shops, and coworking spaces.

Hayes Valley has earned the nickname “Cerebral Valley” for its growing AI startup scene. But because the neighborhood is small and has limited office space, many young companies eventually expand into nearby districts like Mid-Market.

“Lower Hayes is benefiting from being so close to Hayes Valley,” Sample said. “It’s a really great part of the city.”

Other new arrivals in the neighborhood

Motive isn’t the only company moving in. Just across the street, Pump, a Y Combinator-backed startup that calls itself the “Costco for cloud,” recently opened at 1390 Market. Other startups have set up shop at 989 Market, and Ross Stores launched a new outlet nearby.

Still, the neighborhood looks much different than it did pre-pandemic. X abandoned San Francisco last year, relocating to Austin and other Bay Area offices. Uber shifted to Mission Bay. Block (formerly Square) gave up its Market Street headquarters, though it still maintains offices in Oakland. Zendesk also left for a new tower at 181 Fremont.

The city steps in as landlord

Today, the biggest tenant in the Mid-Market area isn’t a tech company at all — it’s the city government. San Francisco now leases over 400,000 square feet at 1455 Market Street, once home to Uber and Block, and even has an option to buy the building. Several other municipal offices are scattered along Van Ness Avenue.

Author Profile

Saleem Mubarak: Saleem Mubarak is a journalist and real estate writer who covers Houston’s evolving property market with a sharp eye for local trends and investor dynamics. He focuses on how shifting prices, interest rates, and migration patterns shape the city’s real estate future.

He has interviewed leading real estate professionals to bring readers first-hand insights into Houston’s changing market—from rising investor activity to the influence of social media on property buying.