Elon Musk to move Tesla headquarters from California to Texas
Electric carmaker Tesla is to move its headquarters from California to Texas, chief executive Elon Musk has said.
The announcement comes after the billionaire tycoon was embroiled in a row with West Coast politicians over their handling of the coronavirus crisis.
Tesla will be the latest in a number of firms, including Hewlett Packard and Toyota, to relocate to the Lone Star State, which has cheaper labour and less strict regulations, while California has relatively high taxes and living costs.
Elon Musk moved to Texas from California last year
Speaking at the company’s annual general meeting, held at the Texas car factory in Austin, Mr Musk said the California plant in Fremont was “jammed” and staff found it difficult to afford houses in the area.
He said: “We’re taking it as far as possible, but there’s a limit to how big you can scale it in the Bay Area.
“Just to be clear, though, we will be continuing to expand our activities in California. This is not a matter of leaving California.”
He pointed out the firm plans to increase output from its sites in California and Nevada by 50%.
Mr Musk himself moved to Texas from California in December to focus on the electric carmaker’s giant new manufacturing complex and his SpaceX rocket company, which has a launch site at the state’s southern tip.
The tech entrepreneur has also had a fractious relationship at times with California, having previously threatened to move Tesla headquarters and future projects to Texas during a row over the closure of the Fremont factory during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Tesla factory in Fremont is ‘jammed’, says Mr Musk
At the meeting, he showed off a slide of a cowboy-style belt buckle emblazoned with “Don’t Mess With T” – the T in the style of the Tesla logo.
The phrase is based on a well-known Texas anti-littering campaign – Don’t Mess with Texas.
While welcoming Tesla’s announcement that it will expand production in Fremont, business leaders highlighted the headquarters move as the latest sign of the region’s ongoing issues.
Jim Wunderman, president and chief executive of the Bay Area Council business group, said: “Mr Musk’s announcement highlights yet again the urgency for California to address our housing affordability crisis and the many other challenges that make it so difficult for companies to grow here.”
Last year, tech giant Oracle decided to move its headquarters from Silicon Valley to Austin, pointing out the move would give its employees more flexibility about where and how they work.
The electric carmaker is building a giant new factory in Austin, Texas
At the AGM, Mr Musk also pointed to the company’s record vehicle deliveries this year, while noting that global supply-chain disruptions that have led to a shortage of computer chips remain a challenge.
He said: “It looks like we have a good chance of maintaining that into the future. Basically, if we get the chips, we can do it.”
As a result, production of Tesla’s angular Cybertruck pickup is not likely to begin before the end of 2022, he said, estimating the company would reach “volume” production of the vehicle in 2023.
“We should be through our severest supply chain shortages in ’23,” he said.
“I’m optimistic that will be the case.”
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Tesla said last week that it delivered 241,300 electric vehicles in the third quarter, even as it wrestled with the shortage of computer chips that has hit the entire car industry.
So far this year, Tesla has sold around 627,300 vehicles. That puts it on pace to soundly beat last year’s total of 499,550.
US
Boy, 8, and girl, 10, killed in US Catholic school shooting named – as father brands attacker ‘a coward’
The families of two children killed in the US Catholic school shooting have said their “hearts are broken” and branded the attacker a “coward”.
Fletcher Merkel who was eight and 10-year-old Harper Moyski were killed during mass at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis on Wednesday.
Eighteen other people were injured, including children aged between six and 15 and three adults in their 80s.
Police said Robin Westman, a male born as Robert Westman, opened fire with a rifle through the windows of the school’s church as children sat in pews.
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New details released of US school shooting
‘Our hearts are broken’
Harper’s parents, Michael Moyski and Jackie Flavin, remembered her as “a bright, joyful, and deeply loved 10-year-old whose laughter, kindness, and spirit touched everyone who knew her”.
“Our hearts are broken not only as parents, but also for Harper’s sister, who adored her big sister and is grieving an unimaginable loss. As a family, we are shattered, and words cannot capture the depth of our pain,” their statement said.
They urged leaders and communities to “take meaningful steps to address gun violence and the mental health crisis in this country.”
“Change is possible, and it is necessary – so that Harper’s story does not become yet another in a long line of tragedies,” the statement added.
The family of Fletcher Merkel said there was a ‘hole in our hearts’. Pic: Family handout/AP
‘Fletcher loved his family’
In a statement reported by Sky’s US partner network NBC News, Fletcher’s father Jesse Merkel blamed the “coward” killer for why the boy’s family can’t “hold him, talk to him, play with him, and watch him grow into the wonderful young man he was on the path to becoming”.
He said: “Fletcher loved his family, friends, fishing, cooking, and any sports that he was allowed to play.
“While the hole in our hearts and lives will never be filled, I hope that in time, our family can find healing.”
Mr Merkel also praised “the swift and heroic actions of children and adults alike from inside the church”.
“Without these people and their selfless actions, this could have been a tragedy of many magnitudes more. For these people, I am thankful,” he added.
Families and loved ones reunite at the scene after the shooting. Pic: Reuters
Mayor calls for assault weapon ban
It comes after Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey called for a statewide and federal ban on assault weapons, a day after the deadly school shooting.
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Minneapolis mayor urges assault weapons ban
“Thoughts and prayers are not going to cut it. It’s on all of us to see this through,” the mayor said at a news conference. “We need a statewide and a federal ban on assault weapons.
“We need a statewide and a federal ban on high-capacity magazines. There is no reason that someone should be able to reel off 30 shots before they even have to reload.
“We’re not talking about your father’s hunting rifle gear. We’re talking about guns that are built to pierce armour and kill people.”
Meanwhile, Minneapolis police chief Brian O’Hara gave an update on the investigation, saying the suspect had fired 116 rifle rounds into the church.
“It is very clear that this shooter had the intention to terrorise those innocent children,” he added, before saying the killer “fantasised” about the plans of other mass shooting attackers and wanted to “obtain notoriety”.
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Thomas Klemond, interim CEO of Minneapolis’s main trauma hospital Hennepin Healthcare, said at an earlier news conference that the hospital was treating nine patients injured in the shooting.
One child at the hospital was in a critical condition, he added.
Children’s Minnesota Hospital also said that three children remain in its care as of Thursday morning.
Police have released new details about the killer in the US Catholic school shooting – including that they “idolised” mass murderers and they wanted to “watch children suffer”.
Two children, aged eight and 10, were killed during mass at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis on Wednesday.
The victims have been named as Fletcher Merkel, 8, and Harper Moyski, 10, – click here to read more
Eighteen other people were injured, including children aged between six and 15 and three adults in their 80s.
Police said Robin Westman, a male born as Robert Westman, opened fire with a rifle through the windows of the school’s church as children sat in pews.
Robin Westman
Almost 120 rifle rounds fired, police chief says
In a news conference on Thursday, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said the attacker fired 116 rifle rounds into the church.
“It is very clear that this shooter had the intention to terrorise those innocent children,” he added.
The police chief said the killer “fantasised” about the plans of other mass shooting attackers and wanted to “obtain notoriety”.
When asked about the attacker obtaining the firearms used legally, Mr O’Hara said that they did not have a criminal history or any diagnosed mental health disorders.
While they had potentially concerning social media posts, the police chief added that there was no evidence to suggest that Westman was legally barred from purchasing a firearm.
People mourn outside the Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis. Pic: Reuters
Suspect ‘wanted to watch children suffer’
Joe Thompson, acting US attorney for Minnesota, also said evidence recovered of the killer’s plans showed “pure indiscriminate hate” and that they “idolised some of the most notorious school shooters and mass murderers in our country’s history”.
“I won’t dignify the shooter’s words by repeating them,” Mr Thompson added. “They are horrific and vile, but in short, the shooter wanted to watch children suffer.”
Earlier, the mayor of Minneapolis called for a statewide and federal ban on assault weapons after the deadly attack, saying “thoughts and prayers are not going to cut it”.
“There is no reason that someone should be able to reel off 30 shots before they even have to reload,” Jacob Frey said.
“We’re not talking about your father’s hunting rifle gear. We’re talking about guns that are built to pierce armour and kill people.”
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Minneapolis mayor urges assault weapons ban
Thomas Klemond, interim CEO of Minneapolis’s main trauma hospital Hennepin Healthcare, said at a news conference that the hospital was treating nine patients injured in the shooting.
One child at the hospital was in a critical condition, he added.
Children’s Minnesota Hospital also said that three children remain in its care as of Thursday morning.
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In a post on Facebook, the hospital said “there are no words to describe the overwhelming pain many are feeling”, adding: “We feel that pain with you.
“To the entire Annunciation community, you have our deepest condolences. During this time of unimaginable grief and loss, we want you to know that we at Children’s Minnesota are with you.
“We will always be here to care for you. And in this moment, we hurt alongside you.”
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