Elon Musk, owner of SpaceX and X/Twitter, has officially announced the relocation of both companies’ headquarters from California to Texas, citing concerns over California’s laws and urban safety issues.
Business Insider reports that on Tuesday, Elon Musk announced via X (formerly Twitter) that SpaceX would be relocating its headquarters from Hawthorne, California, to the SpaceX Starbase near Boca Chica Village, Texas. Musk attributed this decision to laws in California that he described as “attacking both families and companies.”
The specific legislation Musk referenced was a bill signed Monday by California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D). This new law prohibits “forced disclosure” rules in public K-12 schools, effectively banning requirements for teachers to notify parents if a child changes their name, pronouns, or gender identity at school. California is the first state to outlaw such requirements, as reported by the Los Angeles Times.
Musk called this legislation “the last straw” and stated, “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 further claimed that families would have to “leave California to protect their children.”
In the same announcement, Musk revealed that X (formerly Twitter) would also be moving its headquarters from San Francisco to Austin, Texas. He justified this decision by stating he has “had enough of dodging gangs of violent drug addicts just to get in and out of the building.” This move aligns with a recent report from the San Francisco Chronicle, which indicated that X was seeking to sublease all of its San Francisco headquarters.
These relocations follow a pattern established by Tesla, another of Musk’s companies, which moved its headquarters to Texas in 2021. Musk had also previously stated his intention to move SpaceX’s business incorporation from Delaware to Texas.
In response to Musk’s announcement, California Governor Gavin Newsom posted on X, “You bent the knee,” along with a screenshot of a 2022 post from former President Donald Trump. In that post, Trump had claimed that Musk had come to the White House asking for help on various subsidized projects, including “electric cars that don’t drive long enough, driverless cars that crash, or rocketships to nowhere.”
You bent the knee. pic.twitter.com/5CNAWvZFSv
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) July 16, 2024
Recent reports also indicate that Musk has formally endorsed Trump following Saturday’s assassination attempt. According to these reports, Musk, as the world’s richest person, plans to donate approximately $45 million per month to the former president.
Read more at Business Insider here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
