Elon Musk Says He’s Moving X & SpaceX Headquarters To Texas From California Due To State’s Transgender Rights Law, Faces Mixed Reaction From Fans

Elon Musk faced mixed reactions on social media after he announced that the social media platform X and the spacecraft manufacturer SpaceX would be moving to Texas from California.

On July 16, Musk went to X to blame the move on a California law signed Monday by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-California). The law bars school districts from requiring teachers to tell parents if their children change their gender identification. 

“This is the final straw,” the Tesla Motors CEO wrote on X. “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.”

When mentioning Starbase, Musk was alluding to SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas.

“I did make it clear to Governor Newsom about a year ago that laws of this nature would force families and companies to leave California to protect their children,” he mentioned in another X post.

“And X HQ will move [from San Francisco] to Austin,” he stated in a separate X post on Tuesday.

In another post, Musk declared that he had “enough of dodging gangs of violent drug addicts just to get in and out of the building” in San Francisco.

His decision to move these headquarters received mixed responses from other X users, with some praising the move to Starbase and others conveying skepticism toward the move to Austin.

“You’re spot on, Elon,” one user said in response to SpaceX’s move. “Newsom’s anti-family and anti-business policies are ruining California. Texas will be a much better home for SpaceX and hardworking families!”

“Congratulations on making this choice,” another said. “The beautiful thing about a republic of 50 states is that if one state becomes tyrannical, we have the choice as Americans to leave and go somewhere that better reflects our values.”

“So, I’d humbly suggest researching Austin before an official move,” another responded to X moving to Austin. “I yanked my family out of a New Year’s visit I booked there because of criminal and homeless activity near my hotel downtown.”

On April 4, Musk reposted an inaccurate claim suggesting that over 220,730 illegal immigrants registered to vote in Arizona. His comment on the post was: “Extremely concerning.”

He spread false information to his 180 million X followers without ever fact-checking whether or not it was accurate.

According to documents shared in June, X’s revenue plummeted almost 40% in the first six months of 2023, the first full year under Musk’s control. 

The company earned $1.48 billion during this period and reported a staggering loss of $456 million in the first quarter alone. 

This substantial revenue decline is mainly due to the departure of advertisers, who, at one point, made up 90% of X’s revenue.