Billionaire Elon Musk recently announced that he’s moving the headquarters for his companies SpaceX and X out of California after the passage of a controversial new bill. The Bill, Elon Musk exiting California due to AB 1955, a bill that prohibits schools from notifying parents of changes in a child’s gender identity.
Musk wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, “This is the final straw. 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.”
Shortly after that initial post, he clarified that he also plans to move the headquarters for X from California to Texas.
A spokesperson for Governor Gavin Newsom’s office told Fox News, “This law helps keep children safe while protecting the critical role of parents. It protects the child-parent relationship by preventing politicians and school staff from inappropriately intervening in family matters and attempting to control if, when, and how families have deeply personal conversations.”
Additionally, the law does not prohibit parents from accessing their children’s educational records. And minors still must have the consent of their parents or legal guardians in order to change their name or official school records. So this law mainly just applies to students who may be informally changing elements of their identity among peers.
However, Musk and others with similar opinions see laws like this as an attack on families. Especially in today’s divisive political environment, controversial legislation is likely to draw ire from both individuals and businesses.
Not all entrepreneurs have the desire or ability to take a stand by moving their business to a new state. But in general, many are still aware of controversial topics like this and may decide to speak up in other ways, like posting on social media or getting involved in local elections. Just be sure to think through any potential implications of decisions that may come across as controversial.
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