Billionaire tech entrepreneur Elon Musk announced on Tuesday that he is moving the headquarters of SpaceX and X, formerly Twitter, out of California to Texas, indicating that he was pushed to the decision after California’s Democrat governor, Gavin Newson, signed gender identity reporting legislation into law on Monday.
“This is the final straw,” he said in a post to X. “Because of this law and the many others that preceded it, attacking both families and companies, SpaceX will now move its HQ from Hawthorne, California, to Starbase, Texas.” He added in a second post, “I did make it clear to Governor Newsom about a year ago that laws of this nature would force families and companies to leave California to protect their children.”
I did make it clear to Governor Newsom about a year ago that laws of this nature would force families and companies to leave California to protect their children
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 16, 2024
With yet another post, Musk said X’s headquarters, currently located in San Francisco, would be moved to Austin. “Have had enough of dodging gangs of violent drug addicts just to get in and out of the building,” he added.
Texas is already the home of NASA’s Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, located in Houston. And Texas is where SpaceX has its Starbase launch site and rocket factory.
The state’s GOP governor, Greg Abbott, responded to Musk’s first post concerning SpaceX with a post that said moving the headquarters of the company “cements Texas as the leader in space exploration.”
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Musk made his announcement in response to a post from tech investor Jason Calacanis, who asked, “So the state is the parent in California now @GavinNewsom?” Calacanis, in turn, was reacting to a post from the popular Libs of TikTok account run by Chaya Raichik.
“Gavin Newsom signed AB1955 today which bans schools from making rules requiring parental notification if a child identifies as transgender,” Libs of TikTok said. “Get your kids out of public schools.”
Gavin Newsom signed AB1955 today which bans schools from making rules requiring parental notification if a child identifies as transgender.
Get your kids out of public schools. pic.twitter.com/7yISZBUYR4
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) July 16, 2024
As reported by The Daily Wire, the legislation Newsom signed made his state the first in the nation to ban school districts from alerting parents of their children’s sexuality, or if they use pronouns or have adopted gender identities that conflict with those on their school records.
“A lot of families and companies will move out of California because of this law,” Musk said in a different post to X. “Who would want to risk the state taking away their kids?”
This is not the first time Musk has ditched California for Texas. In 2021, he announced that another of his companies, Tesla, would move its headquarters from Palo Alto to Austin. Earlier this year, Musk moved SpaceX’s incorporation to Texas from Delaware.
Two other businesses Musk owns, The Boring Company and Neuralink, reportedly have offices in Texas.
Musk declared over the weekend he was backing Donald Trump after the former president survived an assassination attempt during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery pic.twitter.com/ZdxkF63EqF
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 13, 2024
“I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery,” he said in a post to X that also showed a video of Trump with blood on his face raising his fist into the air while surrounded by Secret Service personnel after a bullet ripped through his ear.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that Musk committed to giving a new super political-action committee supporting Trump — America PAC — $45 million a month.
