Tesla’s most senior employees were shocked by Elon Musk’s sudden decision earlier this month to relocate the company to Texas from California. This was revealed by a top California politician.
California Governor: “Elon didn’t even tell his staff,” Gavin Newsom’s principal economic advisor Dee Dee Williams revealed during a press call with several news outlets when asked if the state had received any advanced notice of Musk’s plans, Bloomberg reported after taking part in the call Tuesday afternoon.
Myers confirmed that they had spoken to the California leadership, who didn’t know until he made the announcement. She spoke days following a $4.2Billion deal with Hertz to purchase 100,000 Teslas. This transaction sent the firm’s worth to $1 Trillion.
Musk announced the move to shareholders at the company’s annual shareholder meeting, held on October 7th at a Tesla factory outside Austin. This is the exact location Musk claims will be the company’s new base.
California Gov. Dee Dee Williams, Gavin Newsom’s principal economic advisor, disclosed Tuesday that Elon Musk’s sudden decision to move Tesla from California to Texas earlier in the month left most of his top employees stunned. He only discovered this when he announced it to shareholders three months ago
Despite the claims of the lawmaker, it is not clear if any senior employees at Tesla were notified about this move before.
This news comes only weeks after Musk made the announcement to shareholders at company’s annual shareholder meetings on October 7, where he was speaking about the possibility of Musk’s move. The meeting was held at a Tesla factory located outside Austin, the exact spot Musk said will become the company’s new base of operations.
This is Musk’s response to a threat he made to the Golden State’s top brass more than a decade ago after he was frustrated by local coronavirus lockdown order that forced him to halt production at his Fremont factory.
Musk plans to move his company’s operations to the site of the Tesla factory in Austin. The structure was still being constructed as of October 25, 2010, when this photo was taken.
Musk was a vocal critic of pandemic restrictions in the beginning, calling them ‘fascists’ and predicting that there would be no new COVID cases by March 2020.
Myers reports that Tesla Chief Executive also cited high housing costs and the long commutes of his employees as reasons for his move, even though he didn’t notify them.
Moreover, the move to Texas has tax implications – both personal and business – for Musk and his company.
California boasts the highest personal income tax and capital gain tax rates in the nation, with 13.3 percent for each. Texas does not have a state income tax nor a capital gains tax on company profits. However, residents must still pay federal levies.
Additionally, these charges are added to similar federal charges, which can increase the total amount for an individual.
Musk was recently named the world’s wealthiest person with a fortune of just under $300 billion. However, much of his wealth can be explained by stock options that depend on Tesla meeting certain financial targets.
The billionaire must pay a variety of state capital gains taxes as well as personal income tax each time he uses these options.
Musk is seen here at Tesla’s Palo Alto headquarters. His company was founded in California.
Musk had been on a 13-month-long spree to sell six properties in the Bay Area and one in 2019, totaling $114million, before listing the Bay Area home.
Texas, on the contrary, doesn’t have any of these taxes. Musk could thus save billions in tax money.
Musk, however, was insistent that the company would keep the original Palo Alto plant and expand production there when he made his announcement at the annual shareholder meeting.
Musk stated that there was a limit on how large you can make the Bay Area.
But in Texas, Musk said, ‘Our factory’s like five minutes from the airport, 15 minutes from downtown.’
‘We’re gonna create ecological paradise right here.’
While he did not give a timeline of when Tesla’s headquarters in Texas will be operational, with the plant still under construction, he noted that it takes less time to build a factory than it does to reach high-volume production.
He said that the plant in Texas will closely resemble Tesla’s Shanghai factory, which was built in 11 months and reached high-volume production after a year.
Musk personally moved to Texas last December just a stone’s throw from the still-under-construction factory, after systematically selling most his assets, declaring in May of last year, ‘I am selling almost all physical possessions. Will not own any house.
The 50-year-old revealed in a tweet that the rented home is worth about $50,000 – less than the cost of a base Tesla Model S (Pictured: A Boxabl Casita similar to the one Musk is said to be renting)
According to reports, Musk is one of the most powerful men in the world. He lives in a tiny house built by Boxabl at the SpaceX site in Texas.
The exec seems to be living up to his promise, selling a bunch of his properties – all of them in California – leaving only his Bay Area property, which is now available for sale.
In fact, Musk slashed the price of the California mansion by $5.5million earlier this month, as he looks to sever all ties with the Golden State for good.
Now, the Tesla founder is living in a 375-square-foot prefab-style trailer just outside of Austin – situated a stone’s throw away from the company’s bourgeoning new headquarters.
The home, commonly known as a Tiny House or a Tesla Model S, is cheaper than a base Tesla Model S. It was made by Boxabl, a company that makes premade houses.
Myers, however, remains skeptical about the billionaire playboy’s true intentions regarding this move – which she claims is not even a sure thing.
Myers stated, “I don’t think anyone knows what it means that the man is moving his headquarters.”
“From the California perspective, they’re not going to go anywhere.”
Myers also penned an op-ed piece earlier this week declaring that Tesla owed its success to the state that she currently serves – where Tesla was also founded.
It is not clear if any senior employees of Tesla were notified about this move before.
She also criticised the CEO for moving to Texas, citing Texas’ lax regulations regarding carbon emissions.
Additionally, the move, should it be successful, will be a major blow for Myers’ state. Several California companies have announced relocations from California in recent months.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise announced in December that the company’s headquarters would move to Houston. Charles Schwab has since moved its operations to a suburb near Dallas and Fort Worth.
Texas has been a popular choice for workers in recent decades. It boasts a lower cost of living than many other cities in Southern California and Silicon Valley.
Austin is especially a vibrant liberal location.
Tesla, however has yet to move to Austin from Palo Alto. The company has not yet commented on the potential move.