‘Many will follow’: Elon Musk predicts mass exodus from California

Families will flee state to ‘protect their children’, claims billionaire, whose transgender daughter cut ties with him

Tesla CEO Elon Musk speaks at the Tesla Giga factory on 7 April, 2022 in Austin, Texas (Getty Images)

Elon Musk has predicted a mass exodus of people and companies from California in response to a new law prohibiting schools from disclosing childrens’ gender identity.

The tech billionaire announced on Tuesday that he would be moving the headquarters of both SpaceX and X (formerly Twitter) from California to Texas in protest to the SAFETY Act bill, which was signed into law by California Governor Gavin Newsom on Monday.

The new law will prevent schools in the state from informing parents of their child’s decision to change their name or pronouns.

“This is the final straw,” Mr Musk wrote in a post to X on Tuesday.

“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.”

In a follow-up post he wrote: “I did make it clear to Governor Newsom about a year ago that laws of this nature would force families and companies to leave California to protect their children.”

Mr Musk is estranged from his transgender daughter Vivian Henna Wilson, who applied to legally change her name from Xavier Alexander Musk in 2022.

In a California court filing, she wrote: “I no longer live with or wish to be related to my biological father in any way, shape or form.”

Mr Musk partly blames the rift on a progressive school in California called Crossroads, according to his biographer Walter Isaacson, which he has attributed to spreading the “woke mind virus”.

The billionaire, who is currently the world’s richest person with a net worth of $270 billion, has previously revealed that he is “actively lobbying to criminalise” aspects of gender-affirming care for transgender minors.

Among those expressing their support for Mr Musk’s decision to move his companies from California to Texas was the prominent Silicon Valley investor Jason Calacanis, who wrote on X: “I am done with California.”

Mr Musk replied: “Many will follow.”

Texas Governor Greg Abbott also praised the move, writing: “This cements Texas as the leader in space exploration.”

Mr Musk is already a resident of Texas, which has no income tax, and moved his other company Tesla there in 2021.