Here we go again. And again. Musk threatens to pull Twitter, SpaceX out of California
- Reference: 1721244549
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2024/07/17/musk_california_laws/
- Source link:
California [1]AB 1955 was [2]signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom (D) on Monday, and bans school districts in The Golden State from forcing teachers to disclose the gender identity or sexual orientation of students to anyone, including their parents, without their permission. The bill was proposed after several districts in the state passed rules requiring teachers to disclose LGBTQ identification to parents if asked.
"This is the final straw," Musk [3]said on Xitter of the passage of the bill. "Because of this law and the many others that preceded it, attacking both families and companies, SpaceX will now move its HQ from Hawthorne, California, to Starbase, Texas."
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Yeah, that's a completely rational reason to move a multi-billion-dollar aerospace manufacturer's headquarters from one state to another. Nothing whatsoever to do with Musk heavily and openly courting Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and his supporters, and attempting to appeal to their anti-Woke sentiments.
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The Tesla tycoon has [7]reportedly pledged $45 million a month to a SPAC backing Trump's reelection campaign, we imagine in hope of securing a Republican administration in 2025 that further subsidies his EV factories and bans Chinese rivals, and to encourage Trump to tweet again to drive up engagement on his X site. Right now, Trump posts on his Truth Social network.
Musk claimed earlier he wasn't donating to any US presidential candidate, ahead of November's national election, though the billionaire was upset at incumbent Joe Biden's support for labor unions and position on immigration and the US border. Now Musk's openly backing Trump and shouting about Cali gender law. Immediately after Trump was [8]almost assassinated at the weekend, Elon couldn't help but [9]claim there had been two attempts in Texas to murder him in the past eight months.
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"X HQ will move to Austin," the SpaceX supremo [11]added yesterday. "Have had enough of dodging gangs of violent drug addicts just to get in and out of the building."
Guilty as charged, San Francisco: The X HQ is in one of the worst spots of the US West Coast city. Though, just sayin', Austin is in Texas.
The ultra-rich boy who cried wolf
Never mind the fact that this isn't the first time Musk has threatened to pack up and leave a place because of rules he doesn't like, leaving one question at the front of this vulture's mind: Why should we assume this threat is any different?
Musk has been making similar "gangs and violent drug addicts" arguments about San Francisco for years, like when he [12]threatened to abandon Twitter headquarters in 2022 after the city said he couldn't install bedrooms in the building.
San Francisco authorities, Musk said at the time, were wasting resources "attack[ing] companies providing beds for tired employees instead of making sure kids are safe from fentanyl."
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Musk did succeed at taking the Tesla headquarters from California to Texas in 2021, ostensibly to escape COVID-19 regulations he [14]decried as "fascist," though the automaker's engineering HQ [15]moved back to California last year. Production at California Tesla plants has also increased since the corp's HQ moved out of the state.
As for SpaceX, the other outfit Musk has now threatened to move to Texas along with Twitter, legally speaking he already has, at least as far as he says.
Musk [16]claimed in February he moved SpaceX’s legal home from Delaware to Texas, though it’s not immediately clear if that process has completed. Interestingly, it was a Delaware judge who [17]voided Musk's $56 billion pay package at Tesla for being unfairly approved by the board.
Tesla shareholders later [18]voted to re-approve the compensation package. And SpaceX HQ remains in Hawthorne, California, until someone other than Musk decrees it to be so.
[19]Tesla slams advisors for not loving Musk's $44.9B payout
[20]Twitter grew an incredible '1.6%' since Musk's $44B takeover. Amazing. Wow
[21]SpaceX's Falcon anomaly could have serious implications for the space industry
[22]Twitter now worth just a third of what Musk paid for it
We reached out to SpaceX for details. Whether the X-man will follow through on his threats to flee California remains to be seen, and he may want to think twice before moving more assets into the state.
There have [23]reportedly been at least 72 liens filed against SpaceX and its contractors in Texas for unpaid bills, amounting to at least $2.5 million. Moving formally into the state could open the legal floodgates to a lot of angry creditors looking for cash.
In addition, it's not clear whether X has ever bothered to clear its arrears on [24]rent owed for its San Francisco headquarters and [25]other offices in the city, meaning there could be some hefty bills due before a move for that biz can be finalized.
We reached out to X for comment as well, and only received the usual (non poop emoji) automated response.
Elon and the trans community: A very brief primer
It's worth noting that Musk's beef with the transgender community, beyond any pandering to Republicans, has been long-running, public, and incredibly personal.
One of Musk's children has identified as a trans woman since the age of 16; Musk's public [26]statements on transgender people have been [27]far from accepting since she came out. Musk's daughter legally changed her name and gender identity in 2022 to further distance herself from her father, who she claims she [28]doesn't want to be associated with "in any way, shape or form."
FYI: Tech VCs Ben Horowitz and Marc Andreessen have [29]pledged support and financial contributions to getting Trump reelected.
Despite all that, Christiana Wyly, wife to Musk's brother Kimbal, told biographer Walter Isaacson that Elon is more upset at his daughter becoming a "full communist" who thinks "anyone rich is evil" than her being trans.
Musk has blamed his alienation from his daughter not on his public derision of the trans community, but rather on her "progressive" school, which he told Isaacson he believed had infected her with the "woke mind virus" he so frequently blames for things he disagrees with.
"I've made many overtures," Musk told Isaacson of his relationship with his daughter, "but she doesn't want to spend time with me."
Whether uprooting two corporate headquarters over a law designed to protect LGBTQ children will help heal the rift is unknown, but we're going to bet the chances aren't good. ®
Editor's note: This article was updated to clarify that Tesla shareholders voted to approve Musk's mega-package, and not SpaceX's investors. We're happy to make this clear.
Get our [30]Tech Resources
[1] https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB1955
[2] https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-politics-and-policy/california-bans-school-rules-requiring-parents-get-notified-childs-pro-rcna162080
[3] https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1813290895334383820
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Zpg@9tXuv-7PwKF5vTINDQAAAQ4&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Zpg@9tXuv-7PwKF5vTINDQAAAQ4&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Zpg@9tXuv-7PwKF5vTINDQAAAQ4&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/07/15/elon-musk-45-million-donation-trump-super-pac/74418715007/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2024/07/16/fbi_access_trump_shooting_phone/
[9] https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1812281822887469104
[10] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Zpg@9tXuv-7PwKF5vTINDQAAAQ4&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[11] https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1813295489032622586
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2022/12/09/sf_investigating_hotel_twitter_musk/
[13] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Zpg@9tXuv-7PwKF5vTINDQAAAQ4&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[14] https://www.cnbc.com/2021/10/07/tesla-moves-its-headquarters-from-california-to-texas.html
[15] https://www.kvue.com/article/news/nation-world/tesla-engineering-hq-california/507-ef444bc2-9069-4c53-ba39-7756bd67599b
[16] https://www.reuters.com/technology/space/musk-says-spacex-has-moved-its-incorporation-texas-delaware-2024-02-15/
[17] https://www.theregister.com/2024/04/17/tesla_reinstate_musk_pay/
[18] https://www.theregister.com/2024/06/14/tesla_shareholders_agree_musk_compo/
[19] https://www.theregister.com/2024/05/30/tesla_musk_pay/
[20] https://www.theregister.com/2024/07/09/x_user_base_twitter/
[21] https://www.theregister.com/2024/07/15/spacex_faa_probe/
[22] https://www.theregister.com/2023/05/31/twitter_value_decline/
[23] https://www.theregister.com/2024/05/14/spacex_liens_texas/
[24] https://www.theregister.com/2023/01/31/twitter_market_square_lawsuit/
[25] https://www.theregister.com/2023/01/03/elon_musks_costcutting_campaign_at/
[26] https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-61880709
[27] https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1664609193230204929
[28] https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-entertainment-gender-identity-santa-monica-eb64ed75c5e8228ca3cae8e1d836e93d
[29] https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jul/17/co-founders-of-silicon-valley-venture-capital-firm-back-trump-presidential-bid
[30] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
"If I have a child, and I don’t know if they are gay or transgender, am I a parent?"
If only The State knows, can parents send in an expense statement for reimbursement with regards to the cost of raising that child? What will Gavin sign next, a bill that states that grades are confidential between the teacher and the student and parents don't have a "right to know" how well their children are doing?
Perhaps if you are a good parent then your child will happily tell you.
Depends.
If the teacher has been coaching them that they may be a cat, dog, fairy, Santa Claus or the other gender (rather than perhaps maybe that they are gay?) or a host of other batshit crazy things, then probably their parent is the last person they are likely to tell.
Since time immemorial, we have known that kids come up with crazy ideas as a normal part of their growing development. To have teachers reinforcing those ideas through some misplaced idea of acceptance, perhaps they don't grow out of them like they normally would?
Damn, remember in the early Tesla and SpaceX days when Musk was a frigging hero??? Fella's gone nuts.
he was always a bit crazy, but now he's not only jumped the shark, he's followed the cow over the moon.
Wish he'd aim lower and stay there next time.
I mean, who'd notice another crater?
He's winding up for his run at the Whitehouse.
You have to be a natural born US citizen so unless they change the constitution he can't stand.
Boris Johnson on the other hand ...
Boris Johnson on the other hand ...
... has renounced his US citizenship, which I suppose rules him out too. Lucky escape, USA.
Starbase, Texas
An area Wikipedia suggests has been criticized as a "sacrifice zone" .
It may just be me, but it's sounding increasingly messianic.
The ultra-rich boy who cried wolf
He appears bemused that the public aren't all lining the streets cheering on the mega-rich bigmouth demanding that the world is run entirely for the purpose of solving his own petty personal grievances. He'll never realise that he's just building himself an ever bigger reputation as the ultimate example of a rich spoilt brat who squeals whenever he doesn't get every single thing he wants.
His main contribution to the world will be to remembered as a cautionary tale of why you should never just surround yourself with sycophants.
Re: The ultra-rich boy who cried wolf
Restoring free speech to twitter and revealing the collusion between the big tech companies, media and the state in the Twitter Files were epic wins.
The fact he went from the darling of liberals everywhere, with Tesla, to their enemy number one, is just the icing on the cake!
Re: The ultra-rich boy who cried wolf
I'd be interested why you think the famously thin skinned one has restored free speech anywhere, when he is notoriously controlling on what can be said through any of the work places and platforms he runs.
The evidence seems to disagree with you. The fact he released information that conveniently damaged his enemies doesn't make it free speech, does it?
Re: The ultra-rich boy who cried wolf
I'm trying to work out if you're talking about Trump or Musk
Of course parents must be notified immediately if their child expresses any of the LGBT garbage. The suicide rate for trans people is 10x higher than compared to the normal population. It is a mental disease that needs to be handled immediately. If the school fails to inform the parents and the child harms themselves, they are absolutely liable for this.
Oh dear
In the UK, schools perform a safeguarding role - and regularly have to deal with situations where children choose to share confidences that can involve serious danger at home.
It is sadly not uncommon that parents beat, mistreat and punish their children, and that homes are abusive, dangerous or unstable. Everything from divorce, drugs, alcoholism, religion, to crime and firearms can turn homes into terrifying and harmful places for children.
In that context, a child may tell an adult outside of their home of things that concern or frighten them. That includes situations where their personal sexuality or gender are not accepted by their parents. The poster I'm replying to would frankly terrify any child questioning their sexuality - and it is that sort of knee jerk attack that leads to self harm and suicide.
Let us be clear - in those circumstances, a teacher can put a child at serious risk if they confront a parent with something told in confidence.
With that in mind, a school MUST be in a position to exercise discretion. Some stories are made up, some are just passing and some are very, very real - and each year our local school goes through a careful process to handle a number of these cases with the best interests of the child in mind.
So - in response to the original poster: YOU are the reason that children need protection, and YOU should not pretend to care about them with moral outrage when clearly you have no sympathy or understanding of other people's situations.
They who have put out the people’s eyes reproach them of their blindness
> The suicide rate for trans people is 10x higher than compared to the normal population.
Yeah, it's not as if being born into a body that doesn't reflect the gender that someone's brain is wired to at a very fundamental level- or the problems with their identity that would cause- would be a cause of stress, is it?
And it's not as if having to do so in a society or community where a large percentage of other people are extremely hostile not just to the concept itself, but to those who identify as transgender is going to multiply that stress many times either, right?
Being transgender itself isn't the "mental illness"- or even likely the biggest cause of the "mental illness" that drives such a high number of transgender people to kill themselves. That would be the attitude of people like you.
FWIW, I don't believe for a second that people like you really give a toss whether (openly or secretly) transgender individuals kill themselves or not. It's just a cheap excuse to attack the whole thing, to be able to live in a society where you can pretend it doesn't exist and force people to cover up because *you* don't like it.
(Oh, and nice first post. Can we expect more of this sort of thing from you, or are you just a one-off/alias account that was created to spew this out and won't be heard from again?)
Hey! Teacher! Leave them kids alone!
Is it any wonder that home schooling is the fastest growing form of education in the States?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/interactive/2023/homeschooling-growth-data-by-district/
If I have a child, and I don’t know if they are gay or transgender, am I a parent?