Elon Musk Moves His Foundation To Texas, Fueling Speculations That Tesla Would Follow

There is increased speculation that Tesla Inc TSLA CEO Elon Musk is planning to move the EV maker's base to Texas after he moved his private foundation to Austin, Bloomberg reported Monday.

What Happened: The Musk Foundation — formerly based in California — merged with an entity in the Lone Star State in October and is now solely operational in Austin, according to Bloomberg.

The foundation, formed in 2001, works in areas related to renewable energy and its advocacy, human space exploration, and development of “safe artificial intelligence to benefit humanity,” along with other areas, as per the foundation's minimalist website.

The Musk Foundation was worth $329 million in terms of assets, as of June 30, 2018, according to tax documents filed last year, as per Bloomberg.

Why It Matters: Musk increasingly spends time in Texas, where he is building a new factory, and from where SpaceX, his rocket company, operates.

This month it was reported that the Tesla CEO has been talking to friends and associates about moving to Texas, according to CNBC.

Musk had threatened to leave California for Texas and Nevada due to the Golden State’s COVID-19 shutdown.

California has the highest income taxes in the United States, while Texas has none.

Price Action: Tesla shares closed nearly 7.1% higher at $641.76 on Monday and gained 1.17% in the after-hours session.

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Photo courtesy of Jae C. Hong via Wikimedia