Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and owner of the social media platform X announced a significant business relocation plan on Tuesday. In response to a recent California bill signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom, which prohibits school districts from mandating staff to disclose a student's gender identity to parents without the child's consent, Musk has decided to move the headquarters of SpaceX and X out of the state. "This is the final straw," Musk stated, signifying his discontent with the law and expressing broader concerns about the legislative direction of California. The company's headquarters will transition from Hawthorne, California to Starbase, Texas, with X also setting up shop in Austin as detailed by KTLA.
In a series of communications on X, Musk expressed his long-standing concerns to Governor Newsom, having previously alerted the governor that "laws of this nature would force families and companies to leave California to protect their children." These developments follow Musk's earlier decision in 2021 to move Tesla's corporate headquarters to Austin, Texas, before announcing intentions to reverse the relocation back to California in 2023. Musk's discontent isn't limited to the new legislation; reports of dissatisfaction with local conditions, including his experiences of "dodging gangs of violent drug addicts just to get in and out of the building," have surfaced as contributing factors to the decision. The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) reported 75,312 unhoused people in Los Angeles County and 45,252 in the city in 2024, as noted by FOX LA.
While Musk has confirmed the plans for SpaceX's relocation, the implications for Hawthorne employees remain uncertain. Since its inception in 2002, SpaceX has been at the forefront of the aerospace industry, championing reusable rocket technology to reduce costs and scoring multiple NASA contracts for International Space Station resupply and crew transport missions. Regarding the company's lunar ambitions and its partnership with NASA's Artemis program, the move's impact on SpaceX's operations and workforce in Southern California is not immediately clear, as reported by NBC Los Angeles. Texas Governor Greg Abbott responded to Musk's announcement with a message on X, declaring, "This cements Texas as the leader in space exploration."
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