Gov. Gavin Newsom has weighed in on Elon Musk’s announcement that Tesla is moving to Austin, Texas, saying that California will be just fine.
In a bill signing ceremony in Oakland Friday, Newsom told reporters that there’s nothing to worry about. California’s economy is strong even without the boost from Tesla headquarters.
"I’ve known Elon for 20 years and I really appreciate the investments he’s made, his innovation, his entrepreneurial spirit pushing out the boundaries," said Newsom.
The Governor in no way considers losing Tesla’s headquarters to Texas to be some kind of crushing blow to the state. He noted that dozens of other electric vehicle companies are based here and that California’s economy continues to grow.
"We have out-paced all Western democracies: Germany, Japan, the United States and substantially out-paced Texas" the Governor said. "With respect to Texas, they’ve grown at 12% GDP in the past five years, California 21%, not even close."
When asked about reports that Tesla’s move is in part a response to an incendiary tweet aimed at Musk from Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez of San Diego, Newsom said he knows nothing about that.
"If that’s why someone wants to move out of the state, I receive tweets like that probably on an hourly basis and I’m staying here and I love this state," he said.
Musk announced his decision to move the electric vehicle company on Thursday.
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