Elon Musk’s Texas Relocation Plan for SpaceX and X Headquarters: Implications for California
Elon Musk has announced his plans to move the headquarters of both X and SpaceX from California to Texas. This announcement has garnered significant attention, with Musk citing dissatisfaction with recent legislation signed by California Governor Gavin Newsom. The law in question allows school employees to withhold information from parents if a child changes their gender identification.
Musk’s tweet stated, “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 headquarters from Hawthorne, California to Starbase, Texas. And X, HQ will move to Austin.”
Christopher Thornberg, head of the California-based consulting firm Beacon Economics, noted that moving headquarters is not synonymous with a complete relocation of all business operations. He suggested that the move would likely result in the loss of dozens to a few hundred jobs, but not thousands. Thornberg emphasized, “Is it going to hammer our economy and make us fade into a third-world nation? No, this is just Elon being Elon.”
Musk also expressed frustrations about X’s San Francisco headquarters, tweeting about issues with violent drug addicts in the area. San Francisco Mayor London Breed responded indirectly, noting the lack of employees returning to the building and contributing to the area’s problems.
In response to Musk’s announcement, Governor Newsom’s press office highlighted that Tesla expanded in California, including relocating their Global Engineering and AI headquarters due to the state’s diverse, world-leading talent.
Despite the announcement, some remain skeptical about whether Musk will follow through on the move. A spokesperson from the commercial real estate company JLL confirmed that they have been hired to sublease X’s excess space at 1355 Market Street and adjacent properties, but no further details about the current space were provided.