Elon Musk could move Twitter to Austin
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Master-of-the universe, Austin couch-surfer and geopolitics dabbler Elon Musk now owns Twitter — leading us to speculate about whether he might move the social media company to Austin.
Why it matters: Austin may soon find itself at the center of global conversations about how Big Tech should govern speech.
- On Sunday, Musk posted — and later deleted — a tweet that furthered baseless allegations about the assault on the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
What they're saying: "We believe Twitter will open up an office in Austin as this now is the foundation of the Musk ecosystem," Dan Ives, an analyst with Wedbush Securities, told the American-Statesman.
- In April, Gov. Greg Abbott encouraged Musk to "Bring Twitter to Texas."
Catch up quick: Musk moved Tesla's corporate headquarters from California to Travis County and its's $1.1 billion manufacturing plant to just outside Austin.
- He has also moved the HQ of the Boring Company, his tunneling and infrastructure firm, to Pflugerville — and has opened offices for SpaceX and neurotech firm Neuralink in Central Texas.
- His private foundation, the Elon Musk Foundation, is also in Austin.
The attraction: Skilled labor, no state income tax and relatively affordable housing (compared to the Bay Area) are all lures for managers who can, increasingly, work remotely.
The intrigue: How Musk's libertarian-ish political philosophy will apply to Twitter — and how that gels with Texas lawmakers' efforts to stop social media platforms from removing posts if it can be viewed as discriminating against a "viewpoint."
What we're watching: Which downtown high-rise could soon have a blue birdie affixed to its gleaming steel shell.
Go deeper: Hear the story of Elon Musk's meteoric rise — and why it matters for us all — on the newest season of Axios podcast How it Happened: Elon Musk vs. Twitter. Listen to episode one and subscribe here.