Elon Musk said he plans to move SpaceX’s California headquarters to Texas after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill that would ban school districts from notifying parents if their child uses different pronouns or identifies with a different gender than school records show.
Critics say that by signing AB 1955, Newsom has limited the power of parents and their children over the state’s public schools. On Tuesday, Musk said he warned the Democratic governor a year ago that “this type of legislation would force families and businesses to leave California to protect their children.”
“This is the final push,” he wrote on social media platform X, explaining the reasons for his decision. “Due to this law and many previous laws that attack both families and businesses, SpaceX will be relocating our headquarters from Hawthorne, California to Starbase, Texas.”
California lawmaker cuts mic while reading bill to repeal sanctuary laws, says Democrats ‘don’t care’
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said Tuesday he plans to move SpaceX’s California headquarters to Texas. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh/File)
SpaceX has a sprawling headquarters outside Los Angeles where workers build and test rocket engine parts, spacecraft and satellites. In 2021, Musk moved Tesla’s headquarters from Northern California to Texas.
California remains the company’s engineering hub.
“Governor Gavin Newsom’s anti-parent policies are not only bad for families, they are now severely damaging California’s economy,” California Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher said in a statement. “With the highest unemployment rate in the nation, you’d think the Governor would do anything to protect jobs, but instead he’s pandering to the extremists in his own party, pushing parents out of their children’s education and driving even more businesses to other states.”
Governor Newsom’s press office pushed back against criticism of the bill.
“The bill ‘does not permit the change of a student’s name or gender identity on official school records without parental consent, and does not limit a student’s opportunity to discuss his or her gender identity with their family,'” X’s post on Monday said. “It does not take away or diminish parental rights. Parents play an important role in discussions about their students’ LGBTQ+ identity, and AB 1955 does not prevent families from having these discussions.”
Responding to Musk’s announcement, Newsom wrote to X, “You took a knee,” above an image he posted on social media of Musk and former President Trump at the White House.
Rep. Chris Ward, who introduced AB 1955, said Musk has threatened to take his business elsewhere before.
“We’ve heard this heretical threat before, when Musk announced he was relocating his operations out of California during the pandemic, but it was actually to expand in Silicon Valley,” Ward said in a statement. “Indeed, California has one of the most robust and productive economies in the world, with a skilled worker talent base to match. We are proud of our state, which provides a vibrant environment in which to learn skills and succeed as an entrepreneur, while also championing the civil rights of others — the very same conditions that have helped Musk’s company thrive.”
Transgender athlete complains about lack of sportsmanship from fellow runners after winning girls state title
California Governor Gavin Newsom recently signed a gender notification bill into law. (AP, Getty Images)
Republican Rep. Bill Essari, who strongly opposed the bill, told Fox News Digital that “radical gender ideologists” in the state capital, Sacramento, were costing the state thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in tax revenue.
“They show no signs of stopping,” he said. “Democrats in Sacramento are responsible for the ongoing attacks on families, businesses and common sense across California. I have pledged to spend my term as a State Representative fighting the radical Democratic agenda that is driving leaders like Elon Musk out of our once Golden State. We must bring common sense back to Sacramento.”
Click here to get the FOX News app
Fox News Digital has reached out to Newsom’s office.
Musk’s announcement came days after he voiced his support for former President Trump after he was shot during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
