Texas lawmaker says state will 'roll out the red carpet' if Elon Musk moves Twitter to Lone Star State
State lawmaker says Musk made 'right choice' moving Tesla to Texas
One Texas lawmaker says the state will "roll out the red carpet" for Tesla CEO Elon Musk in its attempts to lure the world's richest man to move Twitter's headquarters from California to the Lone Star State.
Texas State Representative Tan Parker told FOX Business that Musk should "absolutely" consider moving Twitter from California to Texas, just like he did with Tesla.
Musk recently entered an agreement with Twitter to buy the social media outlet for $44 billion.
"Elon made a tremendous decision, the right choice, when he brought Tesla to Texas, when he brought SpaceX to Texas. I think it's no different in his decision making here for Twitter, he realizes that Texas is the most business friendly state in America, that we are open for business," Parker said.
TESLA HQ OFFICIALLY MOVES TO TEXAS
Elon Musk’s Twitter account is displayed on the screen of an iPhone in front of the homepage of the Twitter website. (Chesnot/Getty Images / Getty Images)
Musk officially moved Tesla's headquarters to Texas in 2021 after tensions between the California government regarding COVID-19 rules, with California state Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez tweeting "F--k Elon Musk," in 2020.
He said at the time that the new Texas facility offered more room for growth.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TWTR | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. |
| TSLA | TESLA INC. | 183.28 | -10.77 | -5.55% |
"It’s tough for people to afford houses and a lot of people have to come in from far away," Musk said of Freemont, California. "We’ve taken it as far as possible but…there’s a limit to how big you can scale it in the Bay Area."
Parker said that the state will "roll out the red carpet" in its efforts to getting Musk to move Twitter's headquarters to Texas.
"[Musk] brought Tesla here, [Elon] brought SpaceX here, and I believe it's a very good probability that he will bring the headquarters of Twitter, and we'll obviously encourage that," Parker said. "We'll support it and we'll roll out the red carpet to make certain that he does so. But he knows living here firsthand the difference that Texas brings to the table."
TEXAS RANCHER OFFERS ELON MUSK FREE LAND FOR TWITTER HQ, SAYS TEXAS IS THE PLACE TO BE
CEO of Tesla Motors Elon Musk speaks at the Tesla Giga Texas manufacturing "Cyber Rodeo" grand opening party in Austin, Texas, on April 7, 2022. (Suzanne Cordeiro/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
He said that Musk would benefit from moving Twitter's headquarters to Texas, especially when it comes to the tax and regulatory environment compared to California.
"We are a low tax state. We have no state income tax. Pretty extraordinary environment. Look at California by comparison. Obviously tremendous state income tax and they're taxed so heavily, obviously at the local level, particularly in the Bay Area," Parker said.
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Twitter headquarters is seen in San Francisco, California, United States on October 27, 2021. (Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Parker isn't the only Texan advocating for Musk to move Twitter's headquarters to the "Lone Star State."
".@elonmusk. Bring Twitter to Texas to join Tesla, SpaceX & the Boring company," said Texas Governor Geg Abbott.
FOX Business' Gary Gastelu contributed to this report