Elon Musk said Tuesday he is moving the headquarters of two of his companies, X and SpaceX, out of California and into Texas. Musk cited a new California law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday that bans mandating that teachers notify families about students’ gender identity as the “final straw” in his decision to relocate.
“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,” Musk said in a follow-up post.
Musk, who recently endorsed former President Donald Trump for the 2024 election, is moving his rocket startup SpaceX to Starbase, Texas, from Hawthorne, California. X is relocating from San Francisco to Austin. “Have had enough of dodging gangs of violent drug addicts just to get in and out of the building,” Musk wrote in another post, alluding to a common stereotype about the city.
The new law bans school districts from passing policies that require schools to notify parents if their student asks to change their gender identification or sexual orientation without the student’s permission. It comes after several school districts in the state passed policies that required parents be notified if a child requests to change their gender identification.
Though Musk voted for Biden in the 2020 election, he’s since become a more vocal critic of leftist policies, with diversity initiatives and immigration emerging as regular targets.