Elon Musk moves to Texas, likens California to an overconfident sports team

Texas also offers a lower cost of living and no state income tax, both of which may appeal to Elon Musk

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk 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.

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 individuals like Musk.

As the coronavirus swept the United States earlier this year, Musk engaged in a public spat with local officials over business closure orders that temporarily shuttered a Tesla factory in northern California, and vowed to move his headquarters and future projects to Texas or Nevada.

Elon Musk's wealth

The Bloomberg Billionaires Index put the Tesla chief executive with a $127.9 billion fortune above Gates at $127.7 billion for the first time.

The 49-year-old entrepreneur has added more than $100 billion to his net worth since January 2020, making him one of the fastest-growing among the world's 500 richest people.