Florida Republican tells Musk to move Tesla HQ after Democrats win big in Texas

Résumé détaillé

Congressman Carlos Gimenez invites world’s richest man to relocate his electric car business to the Sunshine State to avoid tangling with Democratic governor-elect Gina Hinojosa

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Florida Republican Rep. Carlos Gimenez has invited trillionaire Elon Musk to relocate his Tesla headquarters from Texas to the Sunshine State amid anticipated clashes with the former’s incoming Democratic governor Gina Hinojosa.

Texas, once deep-red, provided one of the shocks of last week’s midterm elections when its voters threw out the incumbent, Gov. Greg Abbott, in favor of Hinojosa and sent James Talarico to the Senate in preference to its scandal-blighted conservative attorney general Ken Paxton.

Hinojosa is likely to be of particular concern to Musk, who blew $5 million in donations to support Abbott’s re-election campaign, given that she campaigned on limiting unchecked data center expansion and won a court order entitling her to review unredacted versions of emails sent between the tech boss and her predecessor.

She has also expressed opposition to Boca Chica State Park being sold to Musk’s company SpaceX in support of its Starbase facility nearby, asking the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission to put a hold on any sale until she takes office.

Sensing an opportunity, Gimenez wrote to Musk this week suggesting he relocate his electric car operation to Florida, one of the few Republican-led states that the GOP managed to hang onto at the midterms.

“As the former Mayor of Miami-Dade County and now a Member of Congress representing South Florida, I understand firsthand the importance of fostering an environment where businesses can thrive, investments can flourish, and hardworking Americans can succeed,” the representative wrote.

“With the recent election of self-described Democratic Socialists to positions of power in Texas, I share your concerns about excessive government interference, politically motivated investigations, and policies that punish success.

“Florida offers a fundamentally different approach.

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