Elon Musk to move companies out of California over transgender law

Elon Musk on Tuesday said he would move the headquarters of SpaceX and X, formerly Twitter, to Texas after a Californian law blocked schools from forcing teachers to notify parents about changes to a student’s gender identity.

“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,” Musk said on X.

The multi-billionaire also said that he is transferring X from its art-deco headquarters in San Francisco to Austin, a threat he has made before but never saw to completion.

Musk has already moved Tesla’s headquarters from Palo Alto in Silicon Valley to Austin, Texas.

“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 wrote.

Musk has expressed deep disdain about the use of preferred pronouns, often mocking the practice on social media and dismissing it as part of a “woke” agenda that was dangerous for society.

California Governor, Gavin Newsom, on Monday, signed the bill after a contentious legislative process that pitted a handful of school boards fighting for parental rights against LGBTQ activists concerned about the welfare of vulnerable students.

The law reversed decisions in conservative school districts that ordered teachers to notify parents if a student changed their name or pronouns or requested to use facilities or participate in programmes that didn’t match their official gender.

Newsom, who is seen as a potential alternative to President Joe Biden as a candidate for the White House, has often exchanged fire with conservatives over gender issues at state schools.

Last year, he signed a law that sets fines for school districts that ban textbooks portraying LGBTQ people and other marginalised groups.

The latest law came after Newsom fought bitterly with a conservative school board over its opposition to the study of gay rights figure Harvey Milk, a San Francisco public official who was assassinated.

Musk has previously sparred with Newsom, who is a former San Francisco mayor, during the deadliest stages of the Croonavirus pandemic when he challenged the decisions of city and state health officials.

AFP