Elon Musk is moving both SpaceX and X headquarters out of California and into Texas over the liberal state's new gender identity laws. The 52-year-old billionaire announced the major move on Tuesday, saying Gov. Gavin Newsom's signing of a law that bans California school districts from notifying parents if their child is transgender was 'the final straw.'
The billionaire has already moved Tesla's headquarters from Palo Alto, California to Austin after Alameda County officials would not let him re-open the plant under coronavirus restrictions - despite Newsom announcing that manufacturers could restart operations. He followed through on the promise about a year later, lauding Texas' lack of an income tax and the abundance of housing in the area - though he announced he would still maintain Tesla's 'engineering headquarters' in California.
Musk himself had even moved to the Lone Star state in 2020 after living in California for two decades and has already been in the process of moving SpaceX to Texas as he spoke out against California's liberal policies. He has rallied against the use of preferred pronouns - often mocking the practice on social media and dismissing it as part of a 'woke' agenda that is dangerous for society. Musk is the father of a trans daughter from whom he is estranged, and he blames her California private school education for making her politically far left and turning her against him.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has been on the opposite side, however, often championing these woke ideals - even though he, too, has moved his family out of one of the state's largest cities and into an exclusive area. On Monday, he enacted a law that blocks public school districts from requiring staff to notify parents when their children change the pronouns they use in class. It reversed decisions in more conservative school districts that ordered teachers to notify parents if a student changed their name or pronouns, or requested to use facilities or participate in programs that didn't match their official gender.
Democratic state officials who pushed for the law, argued that students have a right to privacy, and that some LGBTQ + students live in unwelcoming households and need protection from their own parents. Trans activists also argued that such guidelines are vital, as some kids need protection from their old-fashioned parents who won't accept their desire to change sexual identity. But parents have since hit out at the policy, telling DailyMail.com the law would encourage more school districts to implement their own secret sexual identity change policies and leave moms and dads unable to trust teachers. They say they should instead be kept in the loop about their child's gender identity. 'This is a five alarm fire ethically and legally because it excludes parents from knowing vital information about their own child's school records,' said Erika Sanzi, from the campaign group Parents Defending Education. 'If a school facilitates the gender transition of a minor without notifying parents, they are engaged in a psychosocial intervention without parental consent.'
Some conservative California lawmakers have also blamed Newsom for the tech companies' departures. 'Gavin Newsom's anti-parent agenda isn't just bad for families - now it's doing serious damage to California's economy,' Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher told the Sacramento Bee. 'With the highest unemployment rate in the nation, you'd think our governor would be doing everything possible to protect jobs. 'Instead, he's pandering to extremists in his party by cutting parents out of their kids' education and driving even more businesses to pack up for other states.'