Tesla CEO Elon Musk is moving to Texas after threatening to move the automaker’s headquarters there earlier this year. Although Tesla will still have its headquarters in California, it is building a new factory in Texas, which Musk cited as one of the reasons for his move.
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Tesla CEO Musk moves to Texas
Musk told The Wall Street Journal during its CEO Council annual summit on Tuesday that was moving to the Lone Star State. He explained that although "there's a lot of things that are really great about California," he thinks the state is taking its success for granted.
CNN reports that both Tesla and SpaceX will retain their headquarters in California. However, Musk said SpaceX's Starship development in South Texas and Tesla's Giga Texas factory are both holding his attention for now. The Starship development is a huge spaceship and rocket system which Musk claims will be the ship that will take the first humans to Mars.
When Tesla's Giga Texas factory opens, it will build the Cybertruck and the Semi. It will also build the Model 3 and Model Y for buyers located on the eastern side of the U.S.
Musk makes good on his threat
Musk has been threatening to leave California for some time. In May, he tweeted that Tesla would "move its HQ and future programs to Texas/ Nevada immediately." He made the threat after California officials refused to allow the automaker to reopen its factory in Fremont during the pandemic.
In the spring when he made that threat, California Gov. Gavin Newsom told CNBC that he wasn't "worried about Elon leaving any time soon." He also said California was committed to Tesla's success, claiming that although the state "may not be the cheapest place to do business, but we are the best place to do business."
Musk isn't the first wealthy tech executive to abandon California. Many are getting fed up with the high taxes and cost of living in the state, so they're moving their companies away. Hewlett Packard Enterprise said last week that it would relocate its headquarters to Houston, Texas. The company was one of the original firms that made Silicon Valley what it is today.
According to the BBC, software firm Palantir also relocated its headquarters to Denver, Colorado from Silicon Valley this year.
