Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk has announced plans to relocate the headquarters of SpaceX and social media platform X from California to Texas, citing opposition to a new Californian law regarding gender identity disclosure in schools.
Musk voiced his concerns over the law, which prohibits schools from requiring staff to disclose information about a child’s gender identity to parents. “This is the last straw,” Musk posted on social media.
Musk had already moved Tesla’s headquarters to Texas in 2021, following his dissatisfaction with California’s COVID-era lockdowns. Since then, his involvement in US politics has grown. Over the weekend, Musk endorsed Donald Trump for president and is reportedly directing $45 million a month toward Trump’s campaign, a claim Musk dismissed on Twitter/X with a picture captioned “fake gnus.”
The debate over school disclosure policies on students’ gender identities is a contentious issue in the US. LGBTQ advocates argue that students have a right to privacy, while opponents believe parents have the right to be informed about their children’s lives.
Musk, who has a transgender daughter, has expressed support for transgender individuals but criticized the use of pronouns, calling them an “aesthetic nightmare.” Last year, he advocated for criminalizing transgender medical treatments that cause what he described as “severe, irreversible changes to children below the age of consent.”
In a post on X, Musk announced the relocation of SpaceX’s headquarters from Hawthorne, California, to Starbase, Texas, citing ongoing legislative conflicts. He also explained the decision to move X’s headquarters to Austin, criticizing San Francisco’s social issues: “I’ve had enough of dodging gangs of violent drug addicts just to get in and out of the building.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom, a potential Democratic candidate for the upcoming presidential election, criticized Musk’s decision on social media, referencing a 2022 post from Donald Trump that criticized Musk. A spokesperson for Newsom defended the new law, stating it protects children while preserving the parent-child relationship by preventing inappropriate political and school staff intervention in family matters.
States often compete to attract corporate headquarters, which bring high-paying jobs. Musk, a Texas resident benefiting from the state’s lack of income tax, will move SpaceX, which employs over 5,000 people in California, to Texas, where it already has a significant presence.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott welcomed Musk’s decision, stating, “This cements Texas as the leader in space exploration.” Both SpaceX and X have not commented on whether the headquarters relocation will result in job cuts in California.
