Elon Musk will move companies out of California over transgender law

Washington:

Elon Musk said Tuesday he will move the headquarters of SpaceX and X to Texas after a California law prevented schools from forcing teachers to notify parents about changes in a student’s gender identity.

“This is the last straw,” Musk said on X.

“Because of this law and many others that preceded it, attacking families and businesses alike, SpaceX will now move its headquarters from Hawthorne, California, to Starbase, Texas.”

The multibillionaire also said he is moving X from its art deco headquarters in San Francisco to Austin, a threat he has made before but never followed through on.

Musk has already moved Tesla’s headquarters from Palo Alto, in Silicon Valley, to Austin, Texas.

“About a year ago I made it clear to Governor Newsom that laws of this nature would force families and businesses to leave California to protect their children,” Musk wrote.

Musk expressed deep disdain for the use of preferred pronouns, often mocking the practice on social media and dismissing it as part of a “woke” agenda that was dangerous to society.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the bill Monday after a contentious legislative process that pitted a handful of school boards fighting for parents’ rights against LGBTQ activists concerned about the well-being of vulnerable students.

The law reversed decisions in 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 did not correspond to their official gender.

Newsom, who is seen as a potential alternative to President Joe Biden as a candidate for the White House, has frequently traded shots with conservatives over gender issues in public schools.

Last year, he signed a law that sets fines for school districts that ban textbooks that depict LGBTQ people and other marginalized groups.

The latest law came after Newsom fought bitterly with a conservative school board over its opposition to the study of gay rights figure Harvey Milk, a San Francisco public servant who was murdered.

Musk previously clashed with Newsom, the former mayor of San Francisco, during the deadliest stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, when he challenged decisions by city and state health officials.

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