Shutterstock / Frederic Legrand – COMEO
Elon Musk places on his “deep thinker” face at a expertise convention final yr in Paris. (That is France, not Texas.)
On Tuesday, billionaire Elon Musk declared he is shifting the headquarters of his social media platform X and his area firm SpaceX from California to Texas, triggering a flurry of excessive fives from the Lone Star State’s Republican leaders.
“This cements Texas because the chief in area exploration,” Gov. Greg Abbott, who has a historical past of sphincter snorkeling Musk, gushed on his bestest buddy’s very personal social media platform.
Get actual, Gov.
Anybody who thinks Musk, who’s already personally relocated to Texas and plopped the HQ of his electrical automotive firm Tesla right here in 2021, is making his newest proclamation as a result of he loves Texas’ individuals, tradition, climate or lovely open air must get up and scent the bullshit.
To consider Musk, his resolution to retreat farther from the Golden State got here as a result of he was incensed that Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a regulation barring college districts from telling lecturers that they have to notify households in the event that they study a scholar has modified gender id.
“That is the ultimate straw. Due to this regulation and lots of others that preceded it, attacking each households and corporations, SpaceX will now transfer its HQ from Hawthorne, California to Starbase, Texas,” Musk tweeted. “I did make it clear to Governor Newsom a few yr in the past that legal guidelines of this nature would pressure households and corporations to depart California to guard their kids.”
Whereas Musk’s excuse may draw applause from the far-right trolls who’ve change into his cheering part as he has ruined Twitter … oops, we imply X … anybody paying even cursory consideration to the billionaire’s observe document understands that it isn’t the true purpose he is set his sights on Texas.
In actuality, Musk could not muster up a moist fart about California mother and father, California children or California colleges. As a substitute, he is satisfied Abbott’s Texas provides the form of corporations-are-always-right deregulation that may permit him to run his companies freed from obligations to staff, the setting, neighbors or, effectively, anybody else apart from Elon Musk.
Want proof? Simply have a look at the form of good neighbor Musk’s been since he planted SpaceX’s launch facility — known as Starbase — close to Brownsville.
Final spring, a rocket take a look at flight ignited fires in a close-by wildlife refuge, hurled chunks of metallic and concrete hundreds of yards and coated vehicles and houses miles away with powdery particles, in response to an Categorical-Information report. Neat!
In November of final yr, SpaceX sought a regulatory allow to spew as much as 200,000 gallons of handled waste and sewage water right into a South Texas bay that was designated the state’s first coastal nature protect. Option to go!
Extra lately, whistleblowers at Musk’s Boring Co. — sure, the identical agency that issued a laughable proposal to construct an underground tunnel between downtown San Antonio and the airport — complained to regulators that they’d been uncovered to “life-threatening dangers” throughout its tasks. Appears like a pleasant place to work!
Regardless of Abbott’s sycophantic eagerness to roll out the crimson carpet, it is arduous to determine how any of these issues — a lot much less the various different ethical missteps Musk has made whereas striving to additional bolster his private fortune and fragile ego — bode effectively for his future as a sterling company citizen.
Elon, if you happen to’re hell bent on racing to the underside, strive Florida.
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