(CN) — Billionaire Elon Musk on Tuesday rebuked this week’s passage of a California bill that prohibits the forced outing of students to their parents by schools, saying he’ll move the headquarters of SpaceX and his social media platform X from the Golden State to Texas.
Musk’s announcement came the same day that the Chino Valley Unified School District filed suit against California Governor Gavin Newsom, Attorney General Rob Bonta and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond over the new law.
Musk — the owner of companies like SpaceX, Tesla and X, formerly Twitter — replied Tuesday to a user who’d tagged Newsom on Musk’s social media platform. That person asked whether the state of California had now supplanted the parent through the passage of Assembly Bill 1955, sometimes referred to as the “forced outing” bill.
“This is the final straw,” Musk posted. “Because of this law and the many others that preceded it, attacking both families and companies, SpaceX will now move its HQ from Hawthorne, California, to Starbase, Texas.
“I did make it clear to Governor Newsom about a year ago that laws of this nature would force families and companies to leave California to protect their children,” Musk added.
In a separate post, Musk said X’s headquarters would move to Austin, Texas.
Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1955 — written by Assemblymember Chris Ward, a San Diego Democrat — on Monday. It does three main things: It prohibits school employees from telling someone about a student’s sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression without that child’s permission. It also restricts school districts from imposing policies that require disclosure. Additionally, it doesn’t allow schools to punish employees who support student rights.
The bill remained controversial throughout the legislative process, with long lines of opponents speaking against it during public comment. Many opponents railed against what they saw as the state putting a barrier between children and their parents.
Pointing to a survey that stated 46% of LGBTQ youth between 13 and 17 years old considered suicide, supporters of the legislation said the bill was needed to protect students.
Musk’s declaration on social media was greeted by a throng of support.
“Strong move,” posted Caitlyn Jenner, Olympian, media personality and 2021 candidate in the election to recall Newsom. “The state is not the parent!”
California U.S. Representative Kevin Kiley, a former state Assembly member and also a gubernatorial candidate in the 2021 recall election, also chided Newsom over the new law.
“SpaceX is leaving California,” Kiley posted. “Newsom just lost us one of the world’s greatest companies.”
Many others added their voices in criticism to the governor’s decision to sign Assembly Bill 1955.
Assemblymember Kate Sanchez, a Republican from Rancho Santa Margarita, questioned the number of families that would flee the state, and how many jobs would disappear, because of “horrible” laws.
Assemblymember Bill Essayli, a Corona Republican who got into a parliamentary feud with the speaker pro tempore during debate on the bill, said he didn’t blame Musk for leaving the state. However, he added that he’s confident parental rights will prevail in court.
State Senator Scott Wiener, a San Francisco Democrat and member of the legislative LGBTQ caucus, pushed back on X against Musk’s announcement.
“California literally made you with taxpayer subsidies & because it’s the best place around,” Wiener posted. “Will this be a fake temper tantrum move just like Tesla’s fake ‘move’ to Texas?”
Musk in 2021 announced that Tesla would move its headquarters from California to Austin, Texas, though Tesla would keep a presence in the Golden State. Two years later, Musk said Tesla’s engineering headquarters would return to California.
The California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus took to X to thank Newsom shortly after he signed the bill.
“This ensures we are protecting LGBTQ+ students from forced outings and supporting families in working on family acceptance on their own terms,” the caucus said.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the post had 115 replies, most of them negative.
Chino Valley Unified School District and several parents of school children filed suit in federal court the same day.
“If a student is bullied or involved in a verbal or physical fight, the school will tell the parents,” the plaintiffs say in their suit. “If a student expresses a desire to hurt or kill themself, the school will tell the parents. So, too, must a school tell parents if a student has asked the school to participate in that student’s gender transition.”
The school district argues that outside influences can affect children and go against their long-term, best interests. That makes a parent an essential part of providing informed consent. Also, parental involvement is needed for practical reasons — children couldn’t get to medical appointments without a parent or pay for them.
Chino Valley, which Bonta sued last year over its parental notification policy, is asking a judge to issue a preliminary and permanent injunction prohibiting the state from enforcing the new law.