Musk says SpaceX and X are moving headquarters out of California because of transgender law

Tech billionaire Elon Musk said Tuesday he will move the headquarters of his aerospace company, SpaceX, and social media company, X, out of California, after Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed a bill which prohibits school districts from requiring parents to be notified if their child decides to change their gender identity.

“This is the last straw. Because of this law and many others that preceded it, attacking families and businesses, SpaceX will now move its headquarters from Hawthorne, California, to Starbase, Texas,” Musk said. wrote on X Tuesday.

“I made it clear to Governor Newsom about a year ago that laws of this nature would force families and businesses to leave California to protect their children,” the SpaceX CEO added.

He later said X, which it purchased in 2022, will move its headquarters from San Francisco to Austin, Texas.

“I’m tired of running away from gangs of violent drug addicts just to get in and out of the building,” Musk wrote.

The move comes one day after Newsom signed a bill that prevents school officials from “outing” a student to a parent or anyone else without their permission.

Supporters of the bill said it is a critical protection for LGBTQ students as political rhetoric surrounding gender identity in schools becomes increasingly fraught.

The Hill has reached out to Newsom’s office for comment.

Musk has faced criticism in the past for his personal posts related to the LBGTQ community, along with the content moderation changes he has made to X since purchasing the platform for $44 billion. Some civil rights groups argued that the changes had a negative impact on members of the LGBTQ community, making them more vulnerable to online harassment.

Earlier this year, X updated its abuse and harassment rules to revive regulations on content that distorts gender or names dead people.

The change came less than a year after X, under Musk’s leadership, lifted a ban on content that used a transgender person’s pre-transition name — known as deadnaming — or purposefully used the wrong gender for someone.

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