By Mariko Oi
Business reporter
Elon Musk says he has moved the legal home of his rocket company SpaceX from the US state of Delaware to Texas.
Two weeks ago, Mr Musk said electric carmaker Tesla’s shareholders will vote on making the same move. His brain-chip implant firm, Neuralink, has also relocated its legal home to Nevada.
Last month, a judge in Delaware annulled his $55.8bn (£44bn) pay package from Tesla.
Mr Musk has also recommended that other firms move away from Delaware.
In a post on on his social media platform X, formerly Twitter, the multi-billionaire said: “SpaceX has moved its state of incorporation from Delaware to Texas!”
“If your company is still incorporated in Delaware, I recommend moving to another state as soon as possible,” he added.
Many big US corporations, including Amazon, are registered in Delaware, which is known for having light taxation.
On 30 January, Judge Kathaleen McCormick found that Tesla directors, who negotiated Mr Musk’s pay package in 2018, were “perhaps starry eyed” due to his “superstar appeal” and did not fully inform shareholders.
She said the deal was “unfathomable” and ruled it should be cancelled.
The pay deal was the biggest to date in US corporate history, helping to make Mr Musk the richest person in the world.
Mr Musk currently has an estimated net worth of around $200bn.
Tesla’s pay package tied Mr Musk’s compensation to performance targets, such as the firm’s share price and profitability, but he does not receive a salary.
The lawsuit was filed by a shareholder, Richard Tornetta, who argued that it was an overpayment.
Despite owning just nine Tesla shares, Mr Tornetta launched legal action calling for the award to be rescinded.
Following the ruling, Mr Musk launched a poll on X, asking if Tesla should change its state of incorporation to Texas.
The poll had more than 1.1 million votes with over 87% voting in favour of the change.
“The public vote is unequivocally in favor of Texas!,” Mr Musk posted on X.
The electric carmaker moved its corporate headquarters from Palo Alto in California to Austin, Texas in 2021.
