Musk to move companies out of California over transgender law

Elon Musk announced on Tuesday his intention to relocate the headquarters of both SpaceX and X (formerly Twitter) to Texas. This decision follows a new California law preventing schools from mandating that teachers inform parents about changes in a student’s gender identity.

 

“This is the final straw,” Musk stated on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, after California Governor Gavin Newsom signed the bill, intensifying the ongoing culture wars during a turbulent U.S. election year.

 

“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,” Musk declared.

 

Musk also announced the transfer of X’s headquarters from its art-deco building in San Francisco to Austin, Texas, a move he had previously threatened but never executed. “Have had enough of dodging gangs of violent drug addicts just to get in and out of the building,” he wrote.

 

Previously, Musk relocated Tesla’s headquarters from Palo Alto, California, to Austin, Texas, while maintaining an “engineering headquarters” in California.

 

Musk has been vocal about his disdain for the use of preferred pronouns, often mocking the practice on social media and dismissing it as part of a “woke” agenda detrimental to society. Musk’s estrangement from his trans daughter, whom he blames on her education at a California private school, has further fueled his views.

 

### GENDER ISSUES

 

Governor Newsom signed the controversial law on Monday after a contentious legislative process that saw school boards advocating for parental rights clash with LGBTQ activists concerned about the welfare of vulnerable students. The law reverses decisions by conservative school districts that mandated teachers to notify parents if a student changed their name or pronouns or requested to use facilities or participate in programs that didn’t match their official gender.

 

Newsom, a potential alternative to President Joe Biden as the Democratic candidate for the White House, has frequently sparred with conservatives over gender issues in state schools. Last year, he signed a law imposing fines on school districts that ban textbooks portraying LGBTQ people and other marginalized groups.

 

Newsom also had a bitter confrontation with a conservative school board over its opposition to studying gay rights figure Harvey Milk, a San Francisco public official who was assassinated.

 

Musk has had previous confrontations with Newsom, particularly during the deadliest stages of the Covid-19 pandemic, when he challenged the decisions of city and state health officials.