Elon Musk Announces SpaceX and X Will Move to Texas

There’s been plenty of monumental developments recently for Elon Musk and his companies. Musk announced in an X post on Tuesday that SpaceX will move its headquarters to Starbase, Texas, from Hawthorne, California. He cited the SAFETY Act, which prohibits schools from notifying parents about a child’s gender identity changes, as a key reason for the decision.

Musk has been increasingly focused on Texas, having previously filed to move SpaceX’s incorporation there and expressing intentions to relocate the company for several years.

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. https://t.co/cpWUDgBWFe

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 16, 2024

Furthermore, Elon Musk criticized San Francisco’s conditions, citing safety concerns about crime, as a factor in moving X’s headquarters to Austin, Texas. Texas’s lack of income tax and its efforts to attract corporate headquarters were highlighted. SpaceX, employing over 5,000 in California, will maintain a significant presence there despite relocating its headquarters to Texas. Texas Governor Greg Abbott praised Musk’s decision, declaring it solidifies Texas as a leader in space exploration, according to BBC.

And 𝕏 HQ will move to Austin https://t.co/LUDfLEsztj

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 16, 2024

Moreover, Musk announced that X reached a “record high” in usage, with a total of “417 billion user-seconds globally” in one day. In the U.S., user-seconds hit 93 billion, which is 23% higher than the previous record. In March, XData reported that 250 million people use the platform daily for an average of 30 minutes.

In terms of social media and advertising, Musk recently threatened legal action against an alliance of major companies for what he called an “advertising boycott racket” targeting his social media platform X, which he purchased for $44 billion in 2022. This followed Daily Wire founder Ben Shapiro’s Congressional testimony alleging collusion among advertisers against right-leaning platforms. Musk announced plans to sue those involved and urged states to consider criminal prosecution based on evidence presented during the hearings. The alliance in question, GARM, aims to combat harmful content monetization on digital platforms and includes significant global advertisers like Disney and Coca-Cola.