Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced this week hat he will move the company’s headquarters from Fremont, Calif., to Austin, Texas.
Musk stated that the company’s move from the liberal state would occur because of high costs of living for workers and the need for workplace expansion.
“It’s tough for people to afford houses and a lot of people have to come in from far away,” Musk said. “We’ve taken it as far as possible, but there’s a limit to how big you can scale it in the Bay Area.”
Musk added, “Here in Austin, our factory’s like five minutes from the airport, 15 minutes from downtown, and we’re going to create an ecological paradise here because we’re right on the Colorado River.”
The Tesla CEO emphasized that the company will “continue to expand in California significantly, but even more so here in Texas.”
“We will be continuing to expand our activities in California,” he explained. “This is not a matter of Tesla leaving California. Our intention is to actually increase output from Fremont and from Giga Nevada by 50 percent.”
The Tesla CEO warned state officials last year that he was prepared to relocate California’s only large auto manufacturer after state officials levied harsh Covid-19 lockdown orders. In May 2020, Alameda County interim public health officer, Dr. Erica Pan, ordered all businesses, including Tesla, to shut down completely. Musk refused to comply, tweeting that “If anyone is arrested, I ask that it only be me.”
California has lost numerous businesses and residents in the liberal state over the past several years. California’s population decreased for the first time in history last year. From 2000 to 2020, more than 2.6 million people left the Golden State. Over 265 business headquarters have left California since 2018, moving to more conservative states like Texas and Florida.
California’s businesses are the most regulated the country. California is the second-highest state in terms of housing prices, second to Hawaii. The median home price in Freemont, California is nearly $1.4 million, and Palo Alto is nearly $3.5 million. In Austin, Texas, the median price is $596,000.