With these steps, the billionaire, who last week endorsed
Republican Donald Trump for U.S. president, will have relocated
Tesla and most of the businesses he controls or heads to Texas.
The world's richest man, he changed his own residence in 2021
from California to Texas, where there is no state income tax on
individuals.
A new California law that forbids school districts from
requiring teachers to notify parents when a child changes gender
identity or sexual orientation helped spur Tuesday's
announcement, Musk said.
"Because of this law and the many others that preceded it,
attacking both families and companies," Musk, who has a
transgender daughter, said in explaining the decision on X -
formerly Twitter - which he bought in 2022.
The CEO of SpaceX and Tesla in recent years has become outspoken
on politics and often criticizes the Biden administration and
Democrats' positions on issues including transgender rights and
immigration.
California voters have historically supported Democratic
candidates while Texas is considered a reliable Republican
stronghold.
Musk said SpaceX's main office would move to an existing
facility in Boca Chica, Texas, while X would move to Austin. But
the extent to which jobs or facilities in California will
transfer to Texas was unclear.
SpaceX has a sprawling headquarters near Los Angeles, a major
aerospace hub where thousands of employees build the company's
workhorse Falcon 9 rocket, Dragon astronaut capsules and some
Starshield satellites.
In 2021, Musk moved Tesla's headquarters from California to
Texas as well but said last year that California would remain
its engineering hub.
He transferred SpaceX’s incorporation from Delaware to Texas
earlier this year. This followed a Delaware judge's decision
invalidating Musk's $56 billion compensation plan at electric
vehicle maker Tesla.
(Reporting by Priyanka.G in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel
and Cynthia Osterman)
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