Elon Musk has predicted that within 50 years Austin, Texas will become the "biggest boomtown" the US has seen. Speaking on the "Joe Rogan Experience" podcast, released on 11 February, the Tesla chief executive said Austin has huge potential - "megaboom", as he told Rogan. The tech maverick revealed that when he asked the Tesla team about its top choice for the company’s would-be factory and a place they would like to live, the employees chose Austin.
Musk’s relationship with Texas began last spring after he threatened to sue Alameda County in California, where Tesla’s headquarters are. The tech maverick clashed with Californian officials over their decision not to let Tesla reopen its factory because of the coronavirus outbreak. Speaking with investors in April he described California’s stay-at-home orders as "fascist" and claimed officials were "forcibly imprisoning" people. He later announced that Tesla will move its headquarters and future projects to Texas. The company promised to create 5,000 new jobs and occupy up to 5 million square feet of office space in Austin, Texas.
Musk himself decided to say 'Ciao' to California and move to the Lone Star state. Last year he sold several of his homes and moved his charitable foundation to Texas.
Texas in general, and Austin in particular, have become increasingly popular among businesses in recent years. Last December Oracle, the multinational computer technology corporation, announced its plans to move headquarters from Redwood Shores in California to Austin. Drew Houston, the chief executive of Dropbox and co-founder of software giant Palantir, also moved to the city, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise plan to relocate its headquarters to Houston, Texas.
It appears there is some financial incentive behind these moves as Texas has no state income tax, whereas California has the highest rate in the United States.