Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk put his California houses on sale this year while he was sparring with state lawmakers over Covid-19 restrictions. He’s simultaneously been expanding operations in Texas and cozying up to Republican Gov. Greg Abbott.
Several of his close friends and associates already hinted earlier that Musk has revealed to them about planning to move to the Lone Star State. The people with knowledge of the plans asked to stay anonymous because their conversations were meant to be private.
Elon Confirms His Move To Texas
Elon Musk said on Tuesday he had moved to Texas from California, where he plans to focus more on Tesla’s new plant and his SpaceX business.
The billionaire confirmed the move in an interview with Matt Murray, chief editor of the Wall Street Journal.
What Did Musk Say?
“The two biggest things I’m doing right now are developing the Starship south of Texas… and then Tesla’s largest and brand new US factory,” said the 49-year-old entrepreneur.
“It wasn’t a great use of my time here [in California].”
Speaking at a Wall Street Journal conference, Musk also had sharp words about his old state of residence. “When a team wins for a long time, they tend to be more confident,” Musk said, according to Verge. “California has won for a long time, and I think they took it lightly or for granted.”
Texas could offer to get another tax from the richest man in the world. It does not collect personal income tax, while California has the highest government/federal tax rates in the United States.
Tesla’s Stock Performance 2020
A 670% rally of Tesla shares this year raised Musk’s personal net worth and value from $ 27bn to $ 155bn, just after Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
In a discussion on various topics including government intervention, technology companies and corporate policy, Musk criticized the CEOs of some US companies for not focusing enough on their products.
“If you find yourself spending a lot of time making presentations and reviewing spreadsheets, you’re barking at the wrong tree,” Musk said.
With Tesla’s move to raise $ 5bn in the capital, he said: “We thought we could retire more of the company’s debt and increase corporate security… and have more of something like a war chest of confidence.”
Musk’s awards started kicking in after the company reached $100 billion in market cap along with specific metrics for revenue or adjusted earnings. Each $50 billion increase in market cap, up to $650 billion in total market value, leads to another payout if met with a revenue or profitability target. The company is already worth over $550 billion, after starting the year well below $100 billion.
