Elon Musk’s SpaceX and X headquarters moving from California to Texas

In true Muskian fashion, personal frustrations over public school policy in California seemingly led Elon Musk to announce Tuesday that he is relocating SpaceX’s and X’s headquarters from the Golden State to Texas. 

Elon Musk posted on X, formerly Twitter, that the SAFETY Act signed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom was “the final straw,” causing him to move his Space X company to the Lone Star State. He later posted that X will also relocate its headquarters to Texas.

“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 posted.

California’s SAFETY Act limits schools from creating rules that require employees to notify parents of a child’s gender identity. Musk, who has 12 children, has been an outspoken critic of California’s policies.

Where is Starbase, Texas?

Starbase, a company town being built near Brownsville in South Texas, currently houses a landing pad, launch facility, launch control center and tracking station for SpaceX. The aerospace company has been conducting all its Starship test launches from Boca Chica, near the Texas-Mexico border along the coast, and earlier this year it announced a $100 million, five-story office there. Construction for that office has already started and is set to be completed by 2025, Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation records show.

Elsewhere, SpaceX already has facilities in Bastrop, where Musk is building the Hyperloop Plaza, which he imagines as a work-live community for his employees. 

The crown jewel of Musk’s companies, Tesla, is headquartered in Austin and could be the reason he chose the capital city as the next home for his social media company, X.

Musk had been eyeing moves to Texas

Public filings made with the Texas Secretary of State Office in February showed Musk’s interest in moving SpaceX to Texas as the California-based aerospace company requested to change its incorporation location to the Lone Star State.

Musk started to grow more fond of the move to Texas after clashing with a Delaware judge over his extraordinary compensation plan with Tesla. This meant moving the incorporation location of various businesses, including Austin-based Tesla, out of Delaware and to Texas.

After the recent announcement of the headquarters relocations to Texas, Musk doubled down on why he dislikes California saying, “Have had enough of dodging gangs of violent drug addicts just to get in and out of the building.”

He also claims that he warned Newsom, California’s governor, about enacting legislation such as the SAFETY Act.

“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 said.

How did Gov. Greg Abbott respond to Musk’s news?

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott was quick to seize on the Space X announcement, reposting Musk’s “This is the final straw” missive that announced the move from California to Texas.

“This cements Texas as the leader in space exploration,” the governor said on X before Musk dropped the second shoe in his Texas two-step about his social media company’s planned relocation to Austin.

Abbott’s office declined to weigh in on the X move. But he and Musk have been fairly interactive on the platform in recent months. When Musk on June 6 posted a video of Starship’s liftoff in the Lone Star State, Abbott amplified the event with his own message.

“Elon Musk, making Texas proud,” Abbott posted in a reply.

When Musk broke ground on Tesla’s lithium refining facility in Robstown, near Corpus Christi, in May 2023, Abbott was lavish in his praise

“This is not just good for jobs, but it’s good for the entire future of the state,” Abbott said. “Texas wants to be able to be self-reliant, not dependent on any foreign hostile nation for what we need. We need lithium for the phone you have in your hands, for the batteries that be in Tesla trucks, and for other purposes.”

Longtime political operative Bill Miller of Austin said Musk’s moves open the door for Abbott and other state leaders to continue boasting about Texas’ business-friendly regulatory policies.

“He is one of the world’s wealthiest people … and he’s one of the most famous people in the world,” Miller said of Musk. “No matter how you cut it, that qualifies this as a big deal. You can brag about it any way you want.”

Why is Texas so desirable for Musk?

It is no secret that Musk has an affinity for Texas, but, as a business decision, moving to the state has a myriad of personal and professional advantages. He seems to prefer the politics in the state and his stated reason for leaving California confirms that. 

More importantly, Musk being in favor in Texas and the state’s fewer regulations could be attractive to him in terms of headquarters locations and incorporations. Lastly, having all his major companies in the same state could make operations simpler.