Alex Bruno
Elon Musk may have started most of his businesses in California, but he’s become more skeptical of the state as a business environment. That was made plain by Tesla CEO Elon Musk at a recent virtual presence at the All-In Conference in Miami. Musk reminded the gathering, “California used to be the land of opportunity.” It has, however, become “a country of taxation, overregulation, and litigation, which is not a favorable condition.”
As Tesla’s manufacturing facilities grew, Musk became more critical of the government. After securing huge tax breaks from the state of Nevada, he famously constructed the first so-called gigafactory there. He went on to construct facilities in Shanghai and in the Berlin area. When it came time to build a new facility in the United States, Musk chose Texas.
He claimed that the Gigafactory outside Austin, which is three times the size of the Pentagon, was constructed in only 18 months. “You couldn’t force [California Governor Gavin Newsom] to start constructing this facility right now if you put a pistol to his head,” Musk remarked. “There are so many regulatory bodies and litigators in California who want to prohibit you from doing anything that you can’t get anything done even if you’re the governor of the state,” he continued.
Musk blamed California’s problems on the state’s political climate. “It’s a one-party state,” Musk lamented, pointing out that Democrats control the state legislature and all statewide elected positions.
He stated that elected leaders in the state “would never be receptive except to the individuals who supported them.” “Eventually, the people of California will get frustrated and demand change,” Musk continued. “The Republicans have to have a better than 0% chance of winning in California.” The majority of the firms Musk has started or backed have been based in California, including PayPal, SpaceX, the Boring Company, Neuralink, and Tesla.
Source: The Street
