Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has spoken with Elon Musk and said the Tesla founder is “genuinely interested in Texas” as a destination to move the company’s operations, Abbott told News Channel 6 Tuesday.
Abbott joined Wichita Falls-based CBS affiliate News Channel 6 virtually from Austin to discuss Texas’ overall response to the coronavirus pandemic.
When asked for his take on Musk’s proposal to potentially move Tesla’s factory and headquarters from California to Texas or Nevada, Abbott said he has already spoken to the Tesla CEO about the prospect.
“He’s genuinely interested in Texas and genuinely frustrated with California, but we just need to wait and see how things play out," said Abbott. “But just know that in our typical Texas fashion, we are engaged in outreach to anybody who’s thinking about relocating to Texas. Texas would be a perfect location for Tesla to come to.”
Musk has been publicly frustrated about Alameda County Health Department’s move to stop his factory from restarting production in Fremont. Tesla filed a lawsuit in federal court several days ago arguing that the factory was allowed to restart during California’s stay-at-home order because the facility is considered “critical infrastructure.“
The Tesla CEO restarted production at his Fremont facility Monday in defiance of government restrictions and challenged the county to arrest him.
