Tesla Building New Global Engineering HQ in California, Musk and Newsom Announce

Tesla CEO Elon Musk and California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) announced Wednesday that Tesla would return to Palo Alto, California to make the company “dual-headquartered” with Austin, Texas.

Bridging Divides? While Newsom has been suggested as a potential Democratic presidential nominee, and Musk has increasingly aligned with the political right since purchasing Twitter, the pair reportedly “celebrated together” during the announcement. However, while Newsom said it was “a point of pride” that “Tesla is a California company,” Musk later told CNBC, “we’re a California-Texas company.” Separately, Musk said California should be “cautious” about taxes and regulations “going too far,” and Newsom said California’s “rules and regulations” helped support Tesla’s growth.

For Context: Musk moved Tesla’s headquarters from Palo Alto to Austin in 2021 after confrontations with local officials over COVID-19 restrictions. The building that will house Tesla’s new engineering headquarters was previously the original headquarters of computer maker HP.

How the Media Covered It: Coverage was moderately common across the spectrum, particularly in business outlets. Politico’s (Lean Left bias) headline stood out by saying Musk and Newsom “recharged” their “bromance.”