- Elon Musk has announced that he’ll be moving the headquarters of his companies X and SpaceX to Texas in protest of the new California law.
- The SAFETY Act signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom states that teachers no longer have to inform parents if their kids wish to identify as a different gender.
- Musk, who is quite known for his extremist views against the LGBTQ+ community, was unhappy with this news. He feels that this is an attack on companies and families and warned parents that California will take away their children.
On Tuesday (July 16), Elon Musk announced that he’s moving the headquarters of his companies X and SpaceX from California to Texas. While SpaceX is moving to Starbase (a company town being built in the southern part of Texas), X’s HQ will be moved to Austin.
“This is the final straw. 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.” – Elon Musk
In a few subsequent tweets, Elon Musk warned parents that California will take away their children from them.
He also added that after X moves to Austin, many other companies will follow. Whether by this Elon means his other ventures or other companies in general is unclear, but it’s safe to assume he meant the latter.
Read more: Elon Musk pledges $45 Million a month to support Trump’s presidential campaign
The SAFETY Act
The Act is two-pronged, as it also aims to protect teachers from retaliation from parents.
However, many, including me, feel that this is an overreach by the government and, quite frankly, an attempt to circumvent parents’ rights to determine how their child is raised.
“I was honestly surprised that Governor Newsom decided to sign this because this really is just a boldface attack on parents. Our concern is that the state of California, and many of these school districts, think that they know better than parents.” – Scott Davison, a parent from Sage Creek High School
Musk’s Stance on the LGBTQ+ Community
Elon Musk’s reaction to the SAFETY Act was not surprising. He has always been quite transparent about his extreme views on LGBTQ+ and is generally known for his controversial remarks.
For example:
- Musk once posted on X that he will be actively lobbying to criminalize gender-affirming care for transgender youth.
- He silently removed a rule from X that previously protected users from being misgendered or deadnamed on the platform. The rules were reinstated in 2024, though.
- As a result, according to a 2023 report from the CCDH (Center for Countering Digital Hate), tweets accusing people of the LGBTQ+ community of grooming and exploiting children went up 119% since Musk took over. However, the case was later dismissed.
Ironically, Elon Musk’s own daughter filed a petition in a Californian court in 2022, requesting it to recognize her new name and gender. She also said that she no longer wishes to live or be linked with her father in any way, shape, or form.
Other Possible Reasons
Although Musk cites the SAFETY Act as his primary motive for shifting the headquarters, a little digging found that he might have been planning to move well before the legislation was passed.
Also, in February this year, Musk revealed that he moved SpaceX’s incorporation from Delaware to Texas after a Delaware judge canceled his $56 billion pay package from Tesla. Perhaps there is a similar internal reason behind this move that Musk is currently hiding from the public view.
Regardless of his actual motive, moving headquarters isn’t that easy. It will affect thousands of employees who are currently working from their California homes.
Both companies require the people to be available in the office (there’s no remote work), which means that if someone wants to keep their position, they’ll have to migrate. That’s a lot to ask for from so many people.
Our Editorial Process
Our Editorial Process
Share
Krishi Chowdhary
Journalist
Question & Answers (0)