Tesla to move engineering HQ back to the state it left for Texas

PALO ALTO, Calif. — Tesla has decided to base its engineering headquarters in Palo Alto at a former Hewlett-Packard site, the company’s top boss Elon Musk announced on Wednesday.

Musk made the announcement in Palo Alto during a joint appearance with Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Related:Elon Musk moves Tesla’s headquarters to Austin as his attraction to Texas grows

“We’re excited to announce that Tesla’s global engineering headquarters will be right here in the former headquarters of Hewlett-Packard,” Musk said. “This is a poetic transition from the company that founded Silicon Valley to Tesla.”

The decision to place the engineering headquarters in Palo Alto represents a win for California and its political establishment, which were jolted when Tesla in 2020 revealed it would decamp from the Golden State and move the company’s headquarters to Austin.

In comments at that time, Musk said he wanted the Tesla headquarters to be closer to one of the electric vehicle maker’s factories as well as a SpaceX complex, both in Texas.

Related:Austin adjusts to life with Tesla and its eccentric billionaire boss Elon Musk

But Musk also criticized California’s sour business climate and economic environment for his decision to shift the Tesla headquarters from Palo Alto to Texas.

“If a team is winning for too long, they tend to get complacent,” Musk said in December 2020. “California has been winning for a long time, and I think they’re taking it for granted.”

With more than 47,000 employees in California, Tesla has maintained a large footprint in the state, including hardware and software engineering in Palo Alto, its auto plant in Fremont, battery development and testing in San Diego and Megapack production in Lathrop.

For Newsom, Tesla’s decision also represents a win at a time when his second term in the governor’s office has stoked speculation about his possible future plans regarding national politics. The governor also indicated that he’s well aware California can’t be complacent, even if its economy would be one of the world’s largest.

“I recognize the world we invented is now competing against us,” the governor said. “You can’t rest on your laurels.”

Musk and Newsom offered few other details about the move, and didn’t specify if it would create any new jobs.

Related:Elon Musk throws an epic invitation-only party to open Tesla’s Texas gigafactory

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