Elon Musk 'tells friends he plans to move to TEXAS' following clashes with California lawmakers over COVID-19 restrictions and income tax
Billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk has reportedly told friends that he plans to move to Texas, after growing weary of high taxes and regulations in California.
The 49-year-old has been hinting for months that he could ditch the Golden State, and currently splits his time between LA and his SpaceX facilities in Texas.
But he has now told friends and associates that he is planning to make move permanent, anonymous sources told CNBC.
The CEO of Tesla and SpaceX has had a stormy relationship with California for months.
In the spring, he fought with California lawmakers over coronavirus restrictions which were preventing him from reopening his Tesla factory in Fremont, near San Francisco.
In April branded the lockdown rules fascist and said: 'Give people back their goddamn freedom.'
Soon afterwards in May he announced that he would move his Tesla headquarters to Texas or Nevada and started allegedly cozying up to Texas Governor Greg Abbott.
The US' highest paid CEO is said to be considering a move to Texas which has no state income tax and could save him billions
Musk has also been a critic of California's tax policies and claimed it had developed a 'winning-for-too-long problem' that was forcing out the super-rich.
The CNBC report cites several unnamed sources who claim to be aware of his plans to move – but don’t know where in the Lone Star State he plans to make his base.
The entrepreneur, who overtook Bill Gates last month to become the world’s second richest person after Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and is now worth an estimated $139billion, already has a substantial presence in Texas.
His SpaceX program has been based in Texas since 2003.
It operates out of coastal village Boca Chica near Brownsville at a launch site known as Starship Production Complex.
The SpaceX was founded in 2002 to design and launch advanced rockets and space craft and has been based in Texas since 2003
Tesla’s second auto-factory is due to open near Austin and his tunnel start-up, The Boring Company, is also hiring in the state.
Boring Company investor Joe Lonsdale, a co-founder of Palantir and friend of Musk’s, recently relocated to the Austin area from Silicon Valley.
A move to Texas could potentially save Musk billions of tax dollars based on his 2018 Tesla compensation package, which rewards him when the company hits certain milestones.
Texas' top lawmaker Gov. Gregg Abbott, said Musk has chosen Texas due to its 'freedoms'
The company is already worth over $550 billion, after starting the year well below $100 billion.
California has the highest income tax in the country at 13.3%, while Texas has no state income tax.
Musk is currently the highest paid CEO in the US, taking home an estimated $600million.
As of October, Musk had earned awards currently worth about $20 billion before taxes.
Texas Gov. Abbott has welcomed Musk with open arms, and seemed to confirm the CEO's planned move over the summer.
In July he said on CNBC’s 'Squawk Box' that Musk told him he had got a Texas driver’s license and is a 'bona fide Texan now.'
Abbott also said Musk was building his next Tesla factory in the state because it would give him the freedom to 'expand the way he wanted to expand.'
Tesla reportedly received tens of millions of dollars in property tax breaks from Texas to build the new factory in the state.
After announcing the company's move back in May, Musk revealed in a series of bizarre tweets that he intended to sell 'almost all physical possessions'.
'Will own no house,' Musk wrote.
Musk then rapidly listed seven California homes for sale, worth a total of $137million.
The billionaire had initially listed two Bel Air properties on Zillow. This property was listed for $30M. It was purchased by Musk in 2012 for $17million
This image shows the four homes that Musk recently listed on Zillow for a combined $62.5million. The homes (circled above) are within walking distance of each other
This home was purchased by Musk last year. Musk paid $6.4million for this residence which is located on Somera Road
Elon Musk listeded five California properties for a combined $97.5million nearly two weeks after he put two Bel Air homes on the market for $39.5million after vowing to sell off his material possessions. This home sits on Chalon Road in Los Angeles
The fifth home, which is located in Hillsborough, California, has been listed for $35million. Musk purchased the Hillsborough home in June 2017 for $23.3million. The 16,000sqft mansion sits on 47.4 acres of land and features 10 bedrooms and 10 baths
Elon Musk has put two of his California homes on the market just days after a bizarre Twitter rant
Four of the Los Angeles homes were listed on Zillow as a multi-property listing with an asking price of $62.5million.
He also listed two Bel Air properties, including one estate for $30million.
The 16,251sqft mansion features six bedrooms, 11 bathrooms, a two-story library, swimming pool, and a tennis court.
Currently, Tesla’s headquarters remain in Palo Alto, California, and the company continues to build cars in nearby Fremont.
Musk and spokespeople for Tesla have been contacted for comment.
And Musk is not the only tech giant abandoning California.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise announced this week that it is moving its global headquarters from Silicon Valley to Texas.
The tech giant was founded in a tiny garage in 1939, and later helped to kickstart the Silicon Valley boom which made the Bay Area into a technology hot spot.
The company announced the move to the Houston suburb of Spring on Tuesday.
The company is building a 440,000-square-foot campus in two five-story buildings. It is set for completion in 2022.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's office said the relocation will increase the company's presence in the area, which is already home to more than 2,600 employees. The company also has locations in Austin and Plano.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise this week said it is moving its global headquarters from California to Texas. The company is building a 440,000-square-foot campus in two five-story buildings, architect's drawing pictured. It is set for completion in 2022
Hewlett Packard Enterprise was created in 2015 when the computer hardware pioneer Hewlett-Packard Inc. broke into two parts after years of struggling to keep up with industry trends, such as consumers´ shift away from personal computers.
The split left one new company, HPE, concentrated on the business of selling data center hardware and business software, while another new company, HP Inc., kept the legacy PC and printer operations.
HP Inc. is still headquartered in Palo Alto, California, and remains the bigger of the two companies in terms of revenue.
SignEasy, QuestionPro and DZS have also made the to the Lone Star State, CNNreports.