For the better part of the last couple of decades, Governors from the State of Texas have been taking California’s lunch money, by luring business after business to the Lone Star State.  It isn’t like California has been putting up a fight either.  When it comes to their taxation and regulation policy, California has the “more is better” mantra, leaving most businesses with little choice.  Leave, or continue to suffer under these ridiculous standards.

This brings us to PayPal Alum Elon Musk, who announced yesterday that he has left California for Texas.  Musk, who recently joined Amazon’s Jeff Bezos at the top of the wealth charts in the US, has been very critical of California’s policies in the past, suggesting that they might eventually drive him from the state.  California’s elected officials scoffed at Musk’s threat, which now will end up reducing California’s annual tax revenue by millions, if not billions, of dollars.

Musk operates numerous facilities in California, including a Tesla manufacturing plant in the San Francisco Bay Area, along with Space X’s headquarters in Hawthorne.  Musk’s move to Texas is likely as a result of his desire to focus on two huge projects for him: The Austin Area’s new Tesla Gigafactory which will produce battery components for Tesla, as well as SpaceX’s new Starship Rocket, set to be the largest rocket ever produced and launched.  A 15km test of the SN8 rocket is slated to occur any day now.  Musk likely will be in attendance to watch the test.  Just a few days ago, Musk stated that the SN8 mission only has about a 30% chance of success.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Musk stated that California’s elected officials and regulators had become complacent in their dealing with the regulatory requirements for companies.  If you think about it, there really isn’t a person who is more in line with California’s climate change goals, than Musk, who has spent the better part of the last two decades creating technologies that will eliminate a great deal of carbon output.  Musk has numerous side projects that he hopes to accomplish in the future as well, including the Boring Company, which is creating tunnel systems that will allow for faster travel throughout certain metropolitan areas, and hyperloop technology, which would shoot passenger compartments through tubes at hundreds of miles an hour.  All of these technologies could be exclusive to California, providing thousands of jobs, billions in tax revenue, and a huge technological advantage over other states.  Instead, they are now headed elsewhere because of their idiotic policies.

Obviously, you can’t blame Elon.  He’s right.  California’s business policies are self-defeating and put California in a precarious position going forward.  Businesses with huge income potentials as well as new technologies will be developed in other states.  Business, by and large, avoids California like it is the economic plague.  California should be doing more to prevent this exodus, but instead, it seems like they enjoy it.

Best of luck Elon.  You won’t be missing much.