Technology mogul Elon Musk’s latest public temper tantrum will involve a relocation of two of his businesses from California to Texas.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Musk says he intends to move the headquarters of the social media platform from San Francisco to Austin, Texas, while relocating the headquarters of SpaceX from Hawthorne to the Brownsville suburn of Texas.
Musk claimed his decision to move the two companies was influenced by the introduction of a new law in California that prohibits schools and their employees from notifying parents about the preferred gender identity of their children.
Musk himself has 12 children, and said he strongly opposed the law. He has been an outspoken critic of seemingly-progressive initiatives, vowing this week to contribute tens of millions of dollars to an independent expenditure-only committee, or “super PAC,” that benefits current Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump.
Public records reviewed by the Austin American-Statesman showed Musk has considered moving SpaceX from California for some time. Documents filed with the Texas Secretary of State’s office revealed Musk’s intention to reincorporate SpaceX to Texas as early as February, the newspaper reported.
Last week, X (Twitter) said it was sub-leasing around 800,000 square feet of space within its San Francisco headquarters, suggesting the move to Texas was also in the works well before Newsom signed the measure into law.
SpaceX was founded by Musk in 2022 with the goal of reducing space launch and transportation costs. Subsidiary businesses include Starlink, which offers high-speed, low-latency Internet connections delivered through Low Earth-Orbit (LEO) satellite clusters. Some astronomers and other scientists complain the LEO satellites, which can be seen from Earth, contribute to light pollution.
Musk offered to buy X, then known as Twitter, in early 2022. He offered to pay more than $44 billion for the company, then tried to unwind the deal, moving forward with it only after Twitter’s board threatened to sue. The $44 billion purchase closed in October, and Musk wasted no time firing employees and changing the website’s features and rules to the detriment of journalists, academics, politicians, government organizations and law enforcement agencies.
