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Elon Musk had a messy, public breakup with California, but he can't quite shake his ex.
His brain implant company Neuralink leased a five-story, 144,209-square-foot building in South San Francisco this month, joining a hub of biotech companies there, the San Francisco Business Times reports. Musk's xAI is also reportedly looking for a 250,000-square-foot facility after moving into an office previously occupied by rival firm OpenAI a year ago. The AI startup has over 250 open job listings in the Bay Area.
In fairness, Neuralink and xAI never left San Francisco, unlike Tesla, Twitter/X, and SpaceX. ("It is impossible to operate in San Francisco if you’re processing payments," Musk said last year in announcing the Twitter office shutdown.) However, the Bay Area expansions for Neuralink and xAI suggest the billionaire continues to heavily invest in the state, likely because of its talent pool.
Tesla and SpaceX continue to hire in droves in California. Tesla's careers page shows 1,300 jobs in California, compared with 470 in Texas. SpaceX also has more open positions at its Hawthorne, California, location than its new Starbase, Texas, HQ. The Texas HQ seems to still be setting up its basic infrastructure, given open roles for a junior sushi sous chef and mixologist.
Musk's beef with California escalated during the pandemic, when the state required Tesla to shut down its Fremont factory in 2020. When Tesla moved its HQ in 2021, Musk cited high taxes and high cost of living, compared with Texas' relatively affordable, low-regulation environment.
Over the next few years, his interest in right-wing politics unfolded more publicly as he funded Republican campaigns, spent $20 million on a Wisconsin race, and paid voters $1 million to cast their ballots, the AP reports. He then oversaw the early days of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), before his relationship with the president dissolved over a budget bill and he vowed to start his own political party.
By 2024, Musk linked the SpaceX move to politics, citing California's gender identity law as the "last straw." He has a transgender daughter, and he partly blames her transition on the school she attended in California, USA Today reports. ("Teachers in California spend their time indoctrinating kids in DEI racism & sexism & communism, instead of teaching them the skills that help them succeed in life. This needs to STOP!" he tweeted in February.)
Musk has also been openly critical of Gov. Gavin Newsom, lashing out at the Democrat in typically crude fashion after Newsom slammed Musk for sharing an AI-generated video of Kamala Harris during the 2024 presidential campaign.