Edhat Staff
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has threatened to relocate the company’s headquarters from Hawthorne, California, to Texas, citing his stance against a new California law that aims to protect LGBTQ+ students.
The California law, signed by Governor Gavin Newsom on Monday, works to protect the privacy of LGBTQ+ students by prohibiting schools from informing parents if a child changes their gender identity, marking it as the first state law of its kind in the United States.
Musk, 53, vocalized his opposition to the law on X, formerly Twitter, indicating it as a major factor in his decision to relocate SpaceX as well as X’s headquarters from Palo Alto, CA to Austin, TX.
SpaceX’s ties to Vandenberg Space Force Base have been pivotal for its west coast operations, especially for polar orbit launches that are vital for both commercial and national security payloads. The base has been a regular site for launching SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets and is positioned as a key player in America’s space launch capabilities. With the headquarters’ relocation to Texas, where the company also performs Starship launches, questions arise regarding the impact on Vandenberg’s operational tempo and its role in future SpaceX missions.
The move also coincides with Musk’s broader criticism of California’s regulatory and political climate, further hinting at a more favorable perception of Texas’s Republican-led legislative environment despite its anti-LGBTQ+ policies and attacks on reproductive rights.
“The governor of California just signed a bill causing massive destruction of parental rights and putting children at risk for permanent damage,” Musk wrote on X. while also pledging to donate $45 million per month to Trump’s re-election campaign.
According to various media reports, Musk is father to 12 known children with three different women. One of those children identifies as transgender and has publicly disavowed her father’s extremist, legally changed her last name, and cut off all communication with him. “I no longer live with or wish to be related to my biological father in any way, shape or form,” she wrote on social media.
Governor Newsom’s Press Office has been quick to respond to Musk and other anti-LGBTQ+ accounts that have posted misinformation and critiques of the new bill on X.
Under California law, minors are unable to change their name or gender on official school records without the consent of their parents, who also have the right to access their children’s educational records. The law doesn’t restrict students from discussing their gender identity with their family, nor does it compromise or diminish parental rights. Additionally, it doesn’t inhibit family discussions about gender identity or permit teachers and schools to hide information from parents.
The press office stated the last time Musk “moved” a headquarters to Texas, his electric car company Tesla ended up expanding in California and eventually relocated their Global Engineering and AI headquarters back to the golden state.
About that “move,” let’s take a look at how Texas’ leadership “protect their children”:
– Homicide rate 29% higher than CA
– Gun death rate 78% higher than CA
– Infant mortality rate 39% higher than CA
– TX ranks #31 for gun safety (CA’s #1)
– TX has less law enforcement officers and pays them less than CALet’s take a look at how Texas’ leadership supports kids & families:
– Teen birth rate is more than twice CAs
– TX had the highest uninsured rate of all the states in 2022
– TX is #40 for life expectancy among the states (CA is #4)
– Commonwealth Fund ranked TX #48 for quality of & access to health care (CA is #14)And let’s take a look at how CA stacks up economically to Texas…
– CA generates twice the IPOs (from 2011-2022) and new businesses (2019-2022) as TX, & nearly 4X the patents.
– TX has among the most regressive tax systems in the country while CA has one of the most equitable tax systems.
– CA is:
#1 for new business starts
#1 for access to venture capital funding
#1 for tourism spending
#1 for manufacturing
#1 for high-tech
#1 for agriculture
And, CA continues to be the 5th largest economy in the world!– written by the California Governor’s Press Office on X
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Musk uses stuff like this to excuse decisions he has made for other reasons. But often his comments are just that–commentary. Decisions involving money are more carefully analyzed. BTW, I hope SpaceX has an independent source of electricity they can tap into when the private corporate Texas energy companies fail again (as they have so many times in the last few years).
The vast majority of what goes on in California is right thing for our people and environment. The complaints about homeless infesting our communities, and school districts keeping secrets from parents are rooted in evil. Everywhere I look around our beautiful town, I see SUCCESS and PROSPERITY. Time will show that those who left made the wrong choice.
For (supposedly) being such a smart guy, he sure is an idiot.
The only smart thing he did was invest in companies founded and run by smart people then take all the credit for their work.
And pack the boards of directors with his cronies who vote him huge pay packages, to the detriment of the companies.