Elon Musk is doubling down on his commitment to Texas by vowing to move SpaceX’s massive headquarters from its long-time Hawthorne, California home to the Lone Star State.
SpaceX, which has called Hawthorne, California home since 2007, will be moving its headquarters to Starbase, Texas, where the company already operates a massive Starship manufacturing and testing facility. Meanwhile, X will leave its long-time San Francisco base for Austin, joining Tesla, which made a similar move in 2021.
Musk cited multiple reasons for the relocations, including concerns about safety and recent California legislation. On X, he stated, “Have had enough of dodging gangs of violent drug addicts just to get in and out of the building.” Regarding SpaceX, Musk pointed to a recently passed California bill relating to student privacy as “the final straw,” claiming it and other laws “attack both families and companies.”
This move follows a pattern of Musk distancing his companies from California. Earlier this year, SpaceX changed its state of incorporation from Delaware to Texas, a decision made in response to a Delaware court ruling on Musk’s compensation package at Tesla. The electric car maker’s shareholders also recently voted to reincorporate in Texas.
X, which was formerly Twitter, has had its headquarters in San Francisco after being founded there in 2006.
The larger ramifications of the proposed move for both companies are unclear. For SpaceX, Hawthorne is not just its headquarters but also home to large production facilities for its Falcon rocket and Dragon spacecraft, as well as mission control. But if SpaceX and X follow the path of Tesla, it’s likely that much of the status quo will remain the same.
However, Texas Governor Greg Abbott applauded Musk’s statement, saying that it cements his state’s status as “the leader in space exploration.”
