Turns out Tesla is not simply constructing a manufacturing unit in Austin, Texas — it is also transferring its headquarters to the town from California. Elon Musk has announced the transfer on the firm’s most up-to-date annual shareholder assembly, the place he additionally clarified that Tesla nonetheless plans to broaden manufacturing at its California plant by 50 %. He defined, nonetheless, that there is “a limit to how big you can scale in the Bay Area,” as a result of home costs are sky excessive, which implies lengthy commutes for employees who should stay elsewhere.
The transfer would not come fully as a shock: Musk beforehand threatened to maneuver Tesla’s headquarters out of California after coronavirus lockdowns pressured the corporate to droop manufacturing within the state. He even referred to as the lockdown orders “fascist” throughout an earnings name in 2020 after which personally relocated from LA to Austin just a few months later. That stated, it is price noting that Tesla is now based mostly in a state the place it will possibly’t promote its automobiles to patrons straight, which has been its strategy from the start, as a consequence of pro-dealership legal guidelines.
As CNBC notes, Musk transferring to Texas means he’d be paying much less taxes. The state has no private earnings tax, whereas California has a few of the largest earnings tax charges within the nation. Further, the state has been providing corporations tax breaks to construct services within the state underneath the Texas Economic Development Act.
During the assembly, shareholders additionally voted on proposals to enhance firm governance. The New York Times stated they agreed on a lot of the proposals other than a pair that the corporate opposed, one in all which might require the corporate to publish stories on its efforts to diversify its office. Tesla stated in a report (PDF) final yr that its management within the US continues to be largely white and male, whereas its workforce is 79 % male and 34 % white general. Just just a few days in the past, the corporate was ordered to pay $137 million in damages to a former Black employee. The plaintiff accused the automaker of turning a blind eye to discrimination and racial abuse whereas he was working at its plant in Fremont, California.
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