Donald Trump has claimed that California Governor Gavin Newsom did not attempt to contact Elon Musk before moving Tesla’s headquarters out of the state.
In an interview with businessman and podcaster Patrick Bet-David, the former president revealed that he asked Musk if Newsom had tried to persuade him to keep the automaker in the state.
‘I said: Did Newsom call you? Did he call and say, ‘Can we have dinner? “I would love for you to stay here and we’ll work on some tax benefits or some incentive for you to stay,” Trump said.
‘He said he never called. I was surprised by that. You’re talking about thousands of workers and prestige,’ he added.
Musk officially moved Tesla’s corporate headquarters from Palo Alto, California, to Austin, Texas, in December 2021.
Donald Trump said he asked Musk if Newsom tried to persuade him to keep his multibillion-dollar California-based business, and he said no.
At the time, Musk said it had become difficult for employees to afford housing in the expensive Bay Area, which meant many had to make a long commute to work.
But before making the decision, the billionaire was already at odds with state officials.
In 2020, he threatened to pull all Tesla operations from the Golden State in response to Covid-era laws, including stay-at-home orders that caused the plant to temporarily close.
California had also launched a series of regulatory investigations into the company’s treatment of its workers.
“The biggest businessman in your state leaves and you don’t call him,” Bet-David said in response to Trump’s comments on his PBD podcast.
The Bet-David businessman is worth approximately $350 million, which comes from his financial services company, book sales and even a stake in the New York Yankees.
Tesla, which employs about 121,000 people worldwide, has a market value of about $700 billion.
In July, Musk also announced that he would move the headquarters of his two other companies, SpaceX and X, to Texas from California in protest of the state’s gender identity laws.
He said Newsom’s signing of a law prohibiting California school districts from notifying parents if their child is transgender was “the straw that broke the camel’s back.”
Tesla, however, still has its engineering headquarters in Palo Alto, California.
During a joint press conference to announce the move in February 2023, Newsom said it was a “point of pride” that Tesla would once again have a manufacturing plant in California.
“We are changing the world through our historic investments, our conveyor belt of talent and partnerships with companies like Tesla,” Newsom said.
Earlier this year, Tesla also appeared to be hiring at its California headquarters, posting hundreds of open positions in the Bay Area in July, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Tesla’s corporate headquarters is in Texas, but it still has its engineering headquarters in California.
Donald Trump has claimed that California Governor Gavin Newsom “never called” Elon Musk when he moved Tesla’s headquarters out of the state.
Musk officially moved Tesla’s corporate headquarters from Palo Alto, California, to Austin, Texas (pictured), in December 2021.
Trump made the claim during an interview with right-wing podcaster Patrick Bet-David.
Musk, who is the richest person in the world with a net worth of $242 billion according to Bloomberg, first spoke out in support of Trump on July 13.
Since then, the businessman has jumped into the race: appearing alongside Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and creating a political action committee (PAC) to channel his money into the fight.
He initially said he would give $100 to every registered Pennsylvania voter who signed the free speech and Second Amendment petition.
Days later, he announced a $1 million lottery-style drawing for Pennsylvania residents who signed the petition, raising concerns among some officials and legal experts.
Documents filed this week show he has donated nearly $75 million to the PAC, catapulting him to the top of the GOP donor list.