Elon Musk can comfortably call himself the world’s second-richest person amid a surge in the stock of his electric car maker Tesla, and now he has added another title: Texan.
The norm-shattering entrepreneur announced on Tuesday he had left California after a heated squabble earlier this year with local authorities, who ordered one of his auto factories closed to stop the spread of Covid-19.
“Yes, I have moved to Texas,” he told a conference organized by The Wall Street Journal.
Musk justified the move by saying he needed to be closer to two of his biggest projects: the development of rockets by his company SpaceX in the southern part of the state, and construction of a Tesla automobile plant near state capital Austin.
Texas also offers a lower cost of living and no state income tax, both of which may appeal to South Africa-born Musk, 49, who overtook Bill Gates to become the world’s second-wealthiest person last month as Tesla stock reached ever-higher heights.
The high-end electric auto maker’s share price closed at a record high of $649.88 on Tuesday after the company said it would sell $5 billion in shares. Bloomberg estimates Musk is worth about $155 billion.
