Tesla Inc. is officially moving its headquarters to the Austin, Texas area, CEO Elon Musk told investors Thursday.
That doesn’t mean electric vehicle maker TSLA, +1.39%, would leave California entirely, Musk said. The company plans to continue expanding because its Fremont, California factory has been “upset” for some time, he said.
“It’s hard for people to afford houses (in the San Francisco Bay Area) and a lot of people have to come from afar,” said Fremont and Palo Alto, California, which is where its headquarters are located Musk. “There are limits to how big you can scale in the Bay Area.”
Musk spoke at Tesla’s annual meeting held at the Texas factory under construction, which was webcast. Musk said in December that he moved to Texas and split his time between that state and California.
When asked if Tesla would be building more plants soon, Musk said the company could begin “exploring locations for future locations” soon and maybe make a decision in 2023.
Tesla stock was down 0.5% on its last post-trading review after closing its regular trading day up 1.4%.
Tesla stock is up 12% so far this year, compared to gains of around 17% for the S&P 500 index. SPX, + 0.83%
