WASHINGTON — Elon Musk plans to move Tesla's engineering headquarters back to California and closer to his recently acquired social media site Twitter's main campus.
The billionaire CEO announced the relocation plans in a press conference Wednesday with California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
The new engineering HQ isn't the same as Tesla's "gigafactory" facility, which is located near Austin, Texas. The engineering HQ was moved in 2021 to Austin along with the main headquarters for the company, where they were closer to both the factory and the SpaceX launch site.
But with Musk's purchase in 2022 of Twitter, he appears to be spending much of his energy in Silicon Valley, frequently making changes to the social media company and trying to trim costs after his $44 billion takeover.
The new Tesla engineering HQ will take over a Palo Alto office space previously occupied by Hewlett-Packard.
"This is, I think, a poetic transition from the company that founded Silicon Valley to Tesla," Musk said.
The company's main headquarters will remain in Texas.
Despite the joint press conference, Musk and Newsom's government aren't always on the same page.
When Musk first moved Tesla's headquarters to Texas, he was following through on threats to leave the state over red tape and regulations during the pandemic.
Musk and state officials clashed over reopening a Tesla facility in Fremont, California and whether Tesla employees should work from home.
The move back to California also comes as Tesla faces regulatory investigations in the state. The California Department of Motor Vehicles has accused Tesla of deceptive marketing practices over its claims about the company's self-driving software.
In a separate case, the state has filed a suit against Tesla alleging racial harassment and discrimination against Black workers at the company's facilities throughout California.
But the state has always been fertile ground for Tesla as an electric vehicle startup. California's strong climate initiatives have often been a driving force behind the demand for Tesla cars. It's No. 1 in the nation for electric car purchases, with nearly 1.4 million electric vehicles sold in the state.
California has also passed a law that by 2035, most new car sales will need to be electric.