Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk can comfortably call himself the world’s second-richest person amid a surge in the stock of the electric automaker and has added another title: Texan.
The norm-shattering entrepreneur on Tuesday announced that he had left California after a heated squabble earlier this year with local authorities, who ordered one of the state’s Tesla factories closed to curb the spread of COVID-19.
“Yes, I have moved to Texas,” he told a conference organized by the Wall Street Journal.
Photo: Reuters
Musk justified the move by saying that he needed to be closer to two of his biggest projects: The development of rockets by his company SpaceX Inc in the southern part of the state and construction of a Tesla plant near the state capital, Austin.
The state also offers a lower cost of living and no state income tax, both of which might appeal to South Africa-born Musk, 49, who last month overtook Microsoft Corp cofounder Bill Gates to become the world’s second-wealthiest person as Tesla stock reached ever-higher heights.
The high-end electric automaker’s share price closed at a record high of US$649.88 on Tuesday after the company said it would sell US$5 billion in shares.
Bloomberg estimates that Musk is worth about US$155 billion.
As far as California, Musk described the state as “great,” but likened it to an overconfident sports team.
“If a team has been winning for too long, they do tend to get a little complacent, a little entitled, and then they don’t win the championship anymore,” Musk said. “California has been winning for a long time ... and they are taking it for granted.”
California is the most populous and economically productive of the US states, and also imposes a higher tax burden on wealthy residents.
Musk also criticized executives of other US companies for not focusing enough on their products.
“If you find yourself spending a lot of time giving presentations and reviewing spreadsheets, you’re barking up the wrong tree,” Musk said.
The billionaire also compared himself to a war general and said: “If you think about war ... do you want the general in some like ivory tower or on the front lines? The troops are going to fight a lot harder if they see the general on the front lines.”
Musk said that tech companies in Silicon Valley had too much influence on the world and predicted a decrease in their power.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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