Tesla is headquartered in Palo Alto, California, but will soon be moving to Austin, Texas. Tesla isn’t the first major company to take that step. Toyota, HP and Oracle previously settled in Texas, while they were previously based in California.
“I am pleased to announce that we are moving our headquarters to Austin, Texas,” said Tesla chief Elon Musk. He immediately said that Tesla is not leaving California. The factory in Fremont will continue to exist and must be increased by 50 percent, according to Musk. The same applies to the factory in the US state of Nevada.
Tesla boss Elon Musk moved in December
Tesla is currently building a massive manufacturing facility in Austin, Texas. This is where the new head office comes in. Elon Musk himself has also moved to Texas. He did so in December, to be closer to the under-construction Tesla plant in Austin and the SpaceX launch facility in south Texas.
Lower house prices and salaries in Texas
California homes are up to six times more expensive than Texas. That is one of the reasons for moving the headquarters. In California, Tesla employees are finding it difficult to find an affordable home close to the factory. Of course it also plays a role that salaries in Texas are lower and the rules are less strict.
Musk argued with California over corona rules
Furthermore, the relationship between Musk and the state of California has cooled considerably since last year. Musk did not care about the corona rules and opened the Tesla factory in Fremont before permission was given. In May 2020, he tweeted out of frustration that he would move Tesla to Texas.