San Francisco’s ‘Twitter Menace’ or True Believer? He Might Be Both.

But Mr. Tan’s ardour, as it’s for a rising variety of tech business leaders, is San Francisco politics. He is considered one of a cadre of love-them-or-hate-them tech executives and traders with numerous opinions concerning the metropolis and limitless piles of money to, as they are saying within the tech business, transfer quick and break issues. (Their critics would say it’s extra like they’re attempting to purchase City Hall.)

To a few of San Francisco’s political institution, Mr. Tan, 43, has change into probably the most annoying in a parade of rich tech executives. He has created a bombastic on-line persona whereas spending about $400,000 on native politics up to now few years — with probably much more to come back. And on the social media web site X, the place he has 425,000 followers, Mr. Tan doesn’t simply rub some individuals the improper manner, he enrages them.

Just after midnight on Jan. 27, he posted on X, previously Twitter, that seven left-leaning members of town’s Board of Supervisors, listed by title, ought to “die slow,” punctuated by an expletive. It was a delicate reference to the rap legend Tupac Shakur’s well-known monitor “Hit ’Em Up,” launched 28 years in the past as an insult to his music rivals. But to some individuals, it gave the impression of a menace.

Mr. Tan was, he admitted when an X follower requested him, drunk.

A number of hours after his publish went up, Mr. Tan deleted it and apologized. But loads of individuals had already seen it.

A few days later, some supervisors acquired nameless letters at their properties bearing Mr. Tan’s face and the phrases: “Garry Tan is right! I wish a slow and painful death for you and your loved ones.” Aaron Peskin, a supervisor who’s contemplating difficult London Breed, the San Francisco mayor, within the November election, was one of some supervisors to file police reviews primarily based on Mr. Tan’s publish.