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Elon Musk Moves Foundation to Austin

Elon Musk said on Tuesday he had relocated his private foundation, the Musk Foundation to Austin, Texas from California, where he plans to focus more on the new Tesla plant and his SpaceX venture, according to the Austin American Statesman.

FOX Business reported on Tuesday, “For myself, yes, I have moved to Texas,” Musk told Wall Street Journal editor in chief Matt Murray at a CEO Council Summit. “We’ve got the Starship development here in South Texas where I am right now. We’re hopefully going to do a launch later today. And then we’ve got big factory developments just outside of Austin for Giga Texas as well.”

“If a team is winning for too long, they tend to get complacent,” Musk said, “California has been winning for a long time, and I think they’re taking it for granted.”

Musk, America’s (and the world’s), second-richest person, hinted at leaving California back in May, when he tweeted Tesla would “now move its HQ and future programs to Texas/Nevada immediately” after local officials refused to let the company reopen its Fremont factory because of COVID lockdown rules.

“It’s worth noting Tesla is the last car company still manufacturing cars in California,” Musk said when asked about his frustrations with the state and its restrictions this year.

“SpaceX is the last aerospace company doing significant manufacturing in California. There used to be over a dozen car plants in California. And California used to be the center of aerospace manufacturing. My companies are the last two left… that’s a very important point to make. For myself, yes, I have moved to Texas,” he added.

For Musk, the move to Texas could mean potential savings of billions in tax dollars. California has the highest income tax in the country, while Texas has no state income tax.

Musk’s company received tax breaks approved by the county, and the Austin-area Tesla factory is expected to start rolling out vehicles as early as next year.

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About Catherine Smith

Catherine Smith is a newcomer to Washington D.C. She met and married an American journalist and moved to D.C. from the U.K. She graduated with a B.A. in Graphics, Media, and Communications and worked in design and retail in the U.K.

Photo: (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)