Elon Musk announced on X (formerly Twitter) that he is relocating the headquarters of social media platform X and rocket ship manufacturer SpaceX to Texas from California.

Musk is blaming the new law signed by California Governor Gavin Newsom on Monday. It prevents the state's school districts from requiring parents be notified if and/or when their child changes their gender identification.

Elon Musk: no to California, yes to Texas

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The law is the first of its kind in the country. It also means that school staff cannot be required to disclose how a student identifies (gender or sexual orientation) to any other person without permission from the child, with some exceptions.

The law further requires the California Department of Education to develop resources for families with students who identify as members of the LGBTQ+ community from seventh grade through high school. The law will start to take effect January 2025.

Musk posted on X, “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.”

He added in the comments below his post, “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.”

The Tesla CEO already moved the electric car company's headquarters to Austin from Palo Alto in 2021. This was in protest against the Bay Area's stringent coronavirus lockdowns.

Musk's plan is to move SpaceX from Hawthorne to its already existing Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas. He plans to move X, currently based in San Francisco, to Austin. He has already moved his personal residence to Texas, where there is no state personal income tax.

The fight for LGBTQ+ rights

Gov. Newsom's office declined to comment when WIRED asked, but noted that state law still needs parental consent for children to change their names. Parents are still guaranteed access to their child's education records.

WIRED pointed out that parents' rights is a personal issue for the tech billionaire. In Walter Isaacson's biography of Musk released last year, the world's richest man blamed his oldest child's school for exposing her to ideas which led her to transition to female. Musk's child decided to exclude him from her life.

After Musk acquired Twitter in 2022, he started allowing users to post the former names or deadnames of transgender people. Activists have said that he also eased the restrictions regarding anti-LGBTQ content.

A GLAAD spokesperson, who requested to remain anonymous to avoid harassment, said they weren't surprised that someone “with a long history of hateful rhetoric” would use the new law as a pretext to espouse questionable views. GLAAD is an American non-governmental media monitoring organization which also advocates for trans rights.
“The state of California's support for transgender and nonbinary students does not harm students or parents, but creates a model for all leaders in education to ensure LGBTQ student safety and privacy,” they added.
Musk's views are no longer surprising as of late. Just recently, he announced that X will now officially allow NSFW content. Several months before that, it was revealed in a deposition that he sometimes role-plays online as his toddler son, using burner accounts. He also endorsed Donald Trump after the presidential candidate was injured during a rally in Pennsylvania on July 13.
“I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery,” he posted on X.