Florida Representative Carlos A. Gimenez this week formally invited Elon Musk to relocate Tesla headquarters to Florida after Texas’ blue bloodbath of an election night.
Gimenez sent the richest person in the world a letter urging him to consider moving the company to the Sunshine State, a state he says doesn’t “seek to investigate and punish success” like others.
Florida came out of this month’s midterm elections still largely red, left out of the Democratic landslide seen in several historically deep-red states, like Texas.
Musk, who has volleyed between a political alliance and then a public feud with Trump, is already anticipated to clash with Texas’s incoming Democratic Gina Hinojosa. The trillionaire contributed $5.5 million to her opponent Greg Abbott‘s re-election campaign, to no success.
Hinojosa, who won the race despite a campaign account paltry in comparison to Abbott’s, ran on a platform pledging a pause on data center construction. That effort for a moratorium comes just as Musk announced plans this week to invest $74 billion in SpaceX data center construction in both Texas and Arizona.
Hinojosa also has already requested a postponement of any action on the potential sale of Texas’ Boca Chica State Park to Elon Musk’s SpaceX until after she takes office in January.
Florida’s Gov.-elect Byron Donalds, however, is much more amenable to the pressure to give up state land for data center construction. Donalds swept his opponent David Jolly, who vowed to take a tougher approach on the construction of the centers in Florida, with admissions that “we” need to embrace data centers and take advantage of Florida’s “pristine” untouched land to build them.
After the Democratic midterms landslide, Musk began floating the idea of moving Tesla HQ publicly. He said Texas had worked so well for Tesla and SpaceX because the state offered the freedom to operate without what he called an oppressive and extractive state government.
Rep. Gimenez’s letter says Florida embodies these principles.
“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,” the letter reads. “No company should face political retaliation for creating jobs, investing in American innovation, and contributing to our nation’s prosperity.
Musk has yet to comment on the invitation.
