Musk Vows To Move Tesla Out of California - Here's What Tipped The Balance

Fair warning: The Following story contains opinions formed by a person who worked in manufacturing in California.

The Tesla press page has almost no images. However, there is one of a Model S appearing to drive away from the Golden Gate Bridge. Coincidence? Maybe not. Elon Musk just vowed to move Tesla out of California.

Elon Musk is not alone in seeing the light. So many businesses have fled California to states with more welcoming business environments it is hard to know where to begin the list. How about we start with Toyota? The same company that bailed on the very site Tesla now occupies. Toyota quit the BS and moved to Texas. We covered the move in our story, Toyota bails out of high tax states, moving headquarters to Texas.

Elon Musk should really study up a bit on the auto industry. One of America's most successful automobile companies is still headquartered in Californa. The American Honda Motor Company remains in Torrance, California in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. None of its factories are there of course. That is because Honda wants to make a profit. No automotive company in its right mind sets up shop in a union state anymore. Like Toyota, Nissan, BMW, and many others, Honda's factories are all in areas not controlled by the UAW.

Musk is upset that he can't produce cars because a pesky virus keeps killing people. This despite the possible cure he had "promoted" on Twitter way back in the dark days of March. Even worse, the politicians in the state seem to want to close up shop until further notice.

We wish Elon Musk and Tesla the best of luck with the move. If we could offer one piece of advice it would be to shop the new HQ around a bit. North Carolina is known to have to offered $100 million to Toyota to come plant a stake in its neck of the woods. Toyota and Mazda just got $370 million in incentives to build a new plant in Alabama.

If history proves anything it is that California doesn't want manufacturing in its state anyway. Making things is noisy. It causes traffic, and there are even smells from factories. The biggest manufacturer in the state (according to Musk) is about to leave? Cool! Think of the uses for that empty factory. Housing for the homeless. Rehab treatment centers. The possibilities are really endless. This could be a big win for the State of California and for Tesla. Check back for a timeline on the move once Musk releases the details.

Tell us your thoughts on Tesla's upcoming move in the comments below. What would you like to see in place of the Tesla HQ and factory?

John Goreham is a life-long car nut and recovering engineer. John worked in the semiconductor manufacturing industry for two decades as a regional manager for manufacturers supplying companies like Intel in Silicon Valley. He also worked as an area manager for a manufacturing company based in Burlingame CA that moved to Texas. You can follow John on Twitter, and view his credentials at Linkedin.

Image Notes: Top of page image courtesy of Telsa media support. Tweet screenshots courtesy of Twitter.