Mr. Musk made the remarks on Tuesday during the annual CEB summit of The Wall Street Journal in an interview with Editor-in-Chief Matt Murray.

Start-up executives and employees They fled the San Francisco Bay Area in search of cheaper places Since the pandemic has led to remote working conditions. last week,

Hewlett-Packard CorporationAnd the

Its origins trace back to the founding of Silicon Valley, he said Plans to shift its headquarters to Texas. The mass migration has led many technology leaders and industry watchers to do so Asking whether the geographical area is losing its importance As a technical center.

Mr. Musk Threatened to move Tesla operations out of California During sparring with the authorities there in May, following local shelter orders He was asked to close his only car plant in the United States As part of measures to slow the spread of the virus. He criticized local officials at the time, describing them as “violating people’s freedoms” by imposing restrictions.

The automobile CEO later filed a lawsuit against Alameda County, home of the Tesla Factory, and Challenge local authorities by embarking on reopening the factoryThey dare to catch him. The county finally blessed the factory reopening and did not pursue an arrest.

Mr Musk said last month that he had it Tested positive for Covid-19 He had mild symptoms, after repeatedly reducing the risk of the disease and raising doubts about the accuracy of the tests. It has been criticized by public health researchers for spreading false information about the Coronavirus.

Texas has no state income tax, Mr. Musk this year Eligible for billions of dollars in stock options compensation As part of a payment package agreement. Mr. Musk filed papers in late October to move his personal corporation from California to Austin, Texas, according to local records. This step was previously Reported by Bloomberg.

Tesla also said earlier this year that he A new car plant will be built in Austin, The second in the United States and the first outside Silicon Valley. Cars are slated to start next year. The automaker said Tuesday it would Raised up to $ 5 billion through new stock salesIt is the second time this year that it raised this amount of money to fund its expansion plans. Mr Musk said that Tesla plans to produce about 20 million cars annually within a few years, up from around 500,000 in 2020.

Another big company for Mr. Musk, Space Exploration Technologies Corp, or SpaceX, also has operations in Texas.

SpaceX Four astronauts launched into orbit Last month, it marked the company’s first full operational mission with humans on board and the start of regularly scheduled commercial flights to the International Space Station.

Tesla, despite shutting down the plant temporarily early in the pandemic, is well on its way to achieving its previous pandemic goal of delivering about 500,000 cars this year, or nearly 36% more than last year. It is also on track to achieve its first full calendar year of profitability after recording a record profit of $ 331 million in the third quarter.

Write to Heather Somerville at [email protected]