Tesla founder Elon Musk indicated Friday that his decision to relocate the company to Texas was prompted by a California lawmaker’s mean tweet. In May 2020, when the pandemic was raging and Musk opened Tesla’s factory in defiance of local restrictions, California Assemblywoman Lorena S. Gonzalez tweeted “F*k Elon Musk.” In subsequent tweets, she said California had highly subsidized a company that had “always disregarded worker safety & well-being, has engaged in union busting & bullies public servants.” On Friday, shortly after Musk announced the move, a Tesla fan site tweeted a blog post titled, “Tesla Moved its HQ to Texas Following Explicit Offer from California Assemblywoman,” to which Musk replied, “Exactly.”
