Comment Elon Musk is threatening yet again to take his ball and go home, this time claiming he's going to move X and SpaceX from California to Texas because he's upset over a new state law designed to prevent teachers from being required to out LGBTQ students.

California AB 1955 was signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom (D) on Monday, and bans school districts in The Golden State from forcing teachers to disclose the gender identity or sexual orientation of students to anyone, including their parents, without their permission. The bill was proposed after several districts in the state passed rules requiring teachers to disclose LGBTQ identification to parents if asked. 

"This is the final straw," Musk said on Xitter of the passage of the bill. "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." 

Yeah, that's a completely rational reason to move a multi-billion-dollar aerospace manufacturer's headquarters from one state to another. Nothing whatsoever to do with Musk heavily and openly courting Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and his supporters, and attempting to appeal to their anti-Woke sentiments.

The Tesla tycoon has reportedly pledged $45 million a month to a SPAC backing Trump's reelection campaign, we imagine in hope of securing a Republican administration in 2025 that further subsidies his EV factories and bans Chinese rivals, and to encourage Trump to tweet again to drive up engagement on his X site. Right now, Trump posts on his Truth Social network.

Musk claimed earlier he wasn't donating to any US presidential candidate, ahead of November's national election, though the billionaire was upset at incumbent Joe Biden's support for labor unions and position on immigration and the US border. Now Musk's openly backing Trump and shouting about Cali gender law. Immediately after Trump was almost assassinated at the weekend, Elon couldn't help but claim there had been two attempts in Texas to murder him in the past eight months.

"X HQ will move to Austin," the SpaceX supremo added yesterday. "Have had enough of dodging gangs of violent drug addicts just to get in and out of the building."

Guilty as charged, San Francisco: The X HQ is in one of the worst spots of the US West Coast city. Though, just sayin', Austin is in Texas.

The ultra-rich boy who cried wolf

Never mind the fact that this isn't the first time Musk has threatened to pack up and leave a place because of rules he doesn't like, leaving one question at the front of this vulture's mind: Why should we assume this threat is any different?

Musk has been making similar "gangs and violent drug addicts" arguments about San Francisco for years, like when he threatened to abandon Twitter headquarters in 2022 after the city said he couldn't install bedrooms in the building. 

San Francisco authorities, Musk said at the time, were wasting resources "attack[ing] companies providing beds for tired employees instead of making sure kids are safe from fentanyl."

Musk did succeed at taking the Tesla headquarters from California to Texas in 2021, ostensibly to escape COVID-19 regulations he decried as "fascist," though the automaker's engineering HQ moved back to California last year. Production at California Tesla plants has also increased since the corp's HQ moved out of the state.

As for SpaceX, the other outfit Musk has now threatened to move to Texas along with Twitter, legally speaking he already has, at least as far as he says.

Musk claimed in February he moved SpaceX’s legal home from Delaware to Texas, though it’s not immediately clear if that process has completed. Interestingly, it was a Delaware judge who voided Musk's $56 billion pay package at Tesla for being unfairly approved by the board.

Tesla shareholders later voted to re-approve the compensation package. And SpaceX HQ remains in Hawthorne, California, until someone other than Musk decrees it to be so.

We reached out to SpaceX for details. Whether the X-man will follow through on his threats to flee California remains to be seen, and he may want to think twice before moving more assets into the state. 

There have reportedly been at least 72 liens filed against SpaceX and its contractors in Texas for unpaid bills, amounting to at least $2.5 million. Moving formally into the state could open the legal floodgates to a lot of angry creditors looking for cash.

In addition, it's not clear whether X has ever bothered to clear its arrears on rent owed for its San Francisco headquarters and other offices in the city, meaning there could be some hefty bills due before a move for that biz can be finalized. 

We reached out to X for comment as well, and only received the usual (non poop emoji) automated response. 

Elon and the trans community: A very brief primer

It's worth noting that Musk's beef with the transgender community, beyond any pandering to Republicans, has been long-running, public, and incredibly personal. 

One of Musk's children has identified as a trans woman since the age of 16; Musk's public statements on transgender people have been far from accepting since she came out. Musk's daughter legally changed her name and gender identity in 2022 to further distance herself from her father, who she claims she doesn't want to be associated with "in any way, shape or form." 

Despite all that, Christiana Wyly, wife to Musk's brother Kimbal, told biographer Walter Isaacson that Elon is more upset at his daughter becoming a "full communist" who thinks "anyone rich is evil" than her being trans.

Musk has blamed his alienation from his daughter not on his public derision of the trans community, but rather on her "progressive" school, which he told Isaacson he believed had infected her with the "woke mind virus" he so frequently blames for things he disagrees with. 

"I've made many overtures," Musk told Isaacson of his relationship with his daughter, "but she doesn't want to spend time with me."

Whether uprooting two corporate headquarters over a law designed to protect LGBTQ children will help heal the rift is unknown, but we're going to bet the chances aren't good. ®

Editor's note: This article was updated to clarify that Tesla shareholders voted to approve Musk's mega-package, and not SpaceX's investors. We're happy to make this clear.

https://www.theregister.com//2024/07/17/musk_california_laws/