ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST
So Elon Musk is leaving us and taking Tesla’s headquarters to Austin, Texas, where there’s no state income tax and the regulations are lax. He’ll also make good on his past threats to move to Texas because the state and county here harassed him about obeying anti-Covid-19 rules in his Fremont, California plant. He adds that the cost of living will be cheaper for his employees as well.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who sweetened Tesla’s move with a $65 million subsidy, smugly welcomed the defection, saying Musk “consistently tells me that he likes the social policies in the state of Texas.” Social policies? Really? Well, I guess that’s because he’ll not need an abortion at his age. Will he be issued a sidearm to “open carry” when socializing?
What will Musk do with all that money saved? Might use it to build his own power plant because The Lone Star State’s largely fossil-fueled electric grid is prone to power failures which can be fatal. Just last February a string of winter storms killed more than 700 Texans and left 4.5 million homes and businesses without heat and power for days. Governor Abbott blamed the tragedy on frozen wind turbines and solar panels—you know, those candy-assed fripperies they tout out in California. (Later studies reversed the governor’s verdict and mostly blamed the calamity on poorly winterized natural gas equipment.)
Mr. Musk will face another obstacle. Addicted to fossil fuel production and consumption as Texans are, and not exactly happy about this newfangled electric car competition, they can’t buy a Tesla from a dealership. State law prevents that. What you have to do is go to what they call a “showroom” in Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio where you get to sit in a car. Inspect it. You can’t discuss price. Then you go home and online where you pick your model and options. Then you enter your payment information. Once the buying process is done, the car is shipped from California to a service center in Texas, where you pick it up. Easy as one, two, three, four, five, six…. Do you suppose Musk built his plant in Austin so he could sell “factory direct?” Is that legal?
Our own gracious Governor Gavin Newsom praised the departing Musk as “one of the world’s great innovators” and an “extraordinary talent,” but he got in a subtle dig by reminding him that Tesla had benefitted by ”hundreds of millions of dollars” in tax breaks from clean-air-conscious California for producing electric vehicles in the first place.
At least the great entrepreneur will not be harassed anymore by mask mandates. Governor Abbott is more than simpatico. He has pushed through a law forbidding Texas firms from requiring workers to wear them. The Lone Star State will tough out Covid, thank you! But there is a price to pay. Texas has 238 Covid deaths per 100,000; California has 179.
Life is cheaper in Texas, too.