Well... It's a Harley.

Wooo!!! Side track!!
If the big quake happens I'm thinking there won't be much left of California. I'm not referring to the physical State of California, I mean the infrastructure and population of California given where most of the development is located.

Unlikely

Why is that?

Earthquakes don’t happen in multiple places in high magnitudes at the same time. It could, but it is highly unlikely. Even if an 8.0+ earthquake hit the center of LA, it wouldn’t take out Sacramento or the Bay Area. Many newer homes and buildings could be damaged, but not totaled, even in the epicenter. It would be a problem, but it wouldn’t be the end of California or lead to a complete, mass exodus.

We shall see. Or maybe we won't.

Musk leaves California for Texas because of high California taxes. Texas creates new taxes…

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a3...ee-considered/

Texans May Have to Pay $200–$400 Fee for Driving an Electric Vehicle

That's normal. They aren't actually paying extra, it's just a different way of collecting road taxes. Electric cars don't pay that so most states charge them an annual fee.

Using Georgia's tax rate on fuel I paid $255 in road taxes last year on my FRS alone.

Georgia's EV fee is $213.88 for a non-commercial vehicle. Seems on point to me.

I’m not saying it is wrong or off. I’m saying that this could just be the start of more taxes to come that effect EVs and Musk. I’m not saying he isn’t better off leaving California for Texas from a tax perspective, but he would be naive to think some taxes wouldn’t follow him and EVs to Texas.

Understood, I'm just not sure this is one of the "taxes" Musk was referring to when he moved. I think it was primarily personal and corporate income tax.

Elon Musk moving to TX entirely has to do with the personal income tax part of his compensation, which triggered a huge payout when TSLA stock prices hit key benchmarks last year.

https://fortune.com/2021/03/16/elon-...ensation-plan/

EVs are heavier than most ICE (comparable) vehicles. They should pay more for road use maintenance. It's pretty logical. Basically plugging a loophole.

It probably isn't of course, but I think it is just the beginning of taxes to come, and what he says sin't the whole story.

Maybe he wanted to avoid a union forming in California, so he moved to a state where workers are less likely to unionize, but if that was one of the reasons then I doubt he would have said that because it isn't very good for his image.

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/25/tesl...eted-nlrb.html

Tesla could have set up the tax HQ in Ireland to avoid taxes like Apple or something. The move to Texas is more nuanced. It probably was a strategic move for cheaper labor, union avoidance, cheaper land to build, central in the country, etc, and for Musk, having residence close to the physical HQ is smart. I wonder if he will move SpaceX HQ out of California.

Unless I missed something, he got stock options. That only increased his wealth, but not his income. He doesn't have to claim that on his income taxes. It is only taxable when he cashes out his stocks, but like most CEOs and billionaires, he only cashes out a small amount of his wealth each year. I wouldn't be surprised if this amount averages to under $10 million per year.

Really? Is there a similar tax applied to pickup trucks and SUVs/CUVs?