The announcement was made during the company’s shareholders meeting.

In the framework of the Tesla shareholders meeting, Elon Musk announced that the company will move its headquarters from Palo Alto (California) to Austin (Texas), two of the largest states in the United States.

The tycoon and entrepreneur has been hinting for months that the transfer could be imminent. He even started living in the state himself, and the company even set up a factory in Austin where, in addition, many of the operations of his aerospace company SpaceX are developed.

Musk justified the decision to move the headquarters because of the higher cost of living in the town outside San Francisco and the difficulties in expanding its facilities.

“We are delighted to announce that we are moving our headquarters to Austin, Texas,” confirmed Musk on his social media. And he added: “This is not about Tesla leaving California.”

The businessman explained that the company approached the limit of its capacity in California, although he assured that it will continue to grow in that state.

“We will continue to expand our activities in California (…) Our intention is to increase the production of Fremont and Giga Nevada by 50%. If he goes to our Fremont factory, he’s stuck , ”Musk said .

Regarding the new plant in Austin, he acknowledged that it will take time to reach full production level: “In Tesla-land it takes more time to build the factory than to reach a large volume of production once the factory is built.”

The company’s plant in the Chinese city of Shanghai, for example, was built in 11 months. However, it took him almost a year to achieve high-volume production.

Last May he had already anticipated this possibility of a change of headquarters: “Tesla will now move its headquarters and its future programs to Texas / Nevada.” “Whether we even keep manufacturing activity at Fremont will depend on how Tesla is treated going forward,” he added at the time.

Tesla is building a large new plant in Austin for the assembly of vehicles and the production of batteries.

The businessman has expressed his dissatisfaction with California on numerous occasions and his criticism of the state, one of the bastions of the Democratic Party, has only increased since the outbreak of the pandemic.

Musk came to describe as “fascist” and “forced imprisonment” the confinement orders issued at the beginning of the pandemic, in March and April 2020 , by the authorities to contain the explosion of Covid-19 in the country.

In May 2020, it ignored orders from authorities in Alameda County, where the Fremont assembly plant is located, to shut down the facility to pursue measures against the disease.

Musk was supported by then-US President Donald Trump , who wrote on Twitter that “California should allow Tesla and Elon Musk to open the plant NOW. It can be done quickly and safely ”.

Following what happened in the second quarter of 2020, Musk moved from Los Angeles, where he had lived for about 20 years, to Austin. The change has also allowed Musk, one of the richest men in the world, to significantly reduce what he pays in taxes.

Although Musk has never had a problem expressing his ideas on political issues, the businessman has now decided not to criticize Texas and its governor, Republican Greg Abbott , for their social policies, among the most conservative in the country, including the limitations imposed on abortion.

In September, when asked about his support for Abbott and its decisions, Musk wrote on Twitter that “in general I believe that the government should rarely impose its desire on the population and, in doing so, should aim to maximize their happiness. That said, I would rather stay out of political issues. “

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