Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk is making headlines once again, this time with a major announcement that he will be relocating the California-based headquarters of his companies, SpaceX and X (formerly known as Twitter), to Texas. Musk pointed to California’s progressive legal environment and urban safety concerns as key reasons for the move.
On Tuesday, Musk took to X to announce the relocation of SpaceX’s headquarters from Hawthorne, California, to the company’s “Starbase” near Boca Chica Village, Texas. “The final straw,” according to Musk, was the implementation of a new California law targeting both families and companies.
This controversial law, signed by Governor Gavin Newsom on Monday, prohibits “forced disclosure” rules in public schools, which means teachers are not required to inform parents if their child begins using different pronouns, changes their name, or exhibits other signs of altered gender-based behavior. Musk didn’t mince words in his response. “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 declared. He further warned that families would need to “leave California to protect their children.”
But Musk didn’t stop there. He also revealed plans to move the X headquarters from San Francisco to Austin, Texas. This dual relocation underscores Musk’s growing discontent with California’s regulatory climate.
Predictably, Governor Newsom was not pleased with Musk’s decision. In a pointed response, Newsom shared an old social media post from former President Donald Trump, criticizing Musk for seeking subsidies for his projects. “When Elon Musk came to the White House asking me for help on all of his many subsidized projects, whether it’s electric cars that don’t drive long enough, driverless cars that crash, or rocketships to nowhere, without which subsidies he’d be worthless, and telling me how he was a big Trump fan and Republican, I could have said, ‘drop to your knees and beg,’ and he would have done it,” Trump’s post read. Newsom captioned the screenshot, “You bent the knee.”
Musk, never one to shy away from a confrontation, fired back in the comments, saying, “You never get off your knees.” He emphasized that he had previously warned Newsom about the implications of such legislation, saying, “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.”
Despite the heated exchange, Newsom’s spokesperson Brandon Richards defended the law, claiming it helps keep children safe and protects the child-parent relationship from political and school staff interference. “This law helps keep children safe while protecting the critical role of parents. It protects the child-parent relationship by preventing politicians and school staff from inappropriately intervening in family matters and attempting to control if, when, and how families have deeply personal conversations,” Richards said.
Musk has long been critical of California’s progressive policies and what he describes as a hostile business environment. Over the years, he has gradually moved his companies to more business-friendly states like Texas. Musk even changed his personal residency to Texas, further signaling his departure from the Golden State.
The relocation of SpaceX and X marks a significant shift for Musk’s operations and serves as a bold statement against California’s regulatory landscape. As the debate continues, it’s clear that Musk’s actions are reshaping the business and political dynamics between California and Texas.
For a deeper dive into Musk’s critique of California’s regulatory environment, watch the video below.
