Jacksonville mayor, Florida CFO call for Musk to move Twitter to Florida: 'Come on Elon'
Florida's CFO has also called for Musk to come to Florida
GETTR CEO Jason Miller cautions that Elon Musk’s policy changes at Twitter won’t take place until the deal is complete in six months.
The mayor of Jacksonville, Florida is calling on Tesla CEO and new Twitter owner Elon Musk to relocate the social media company’s headquarters to Florida.
"I think it would be a great landing spot," Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry said Thursday, according to WFOX-TV, days after Musk’s bid to buy Twitter was approved. ""FIN-tech is huge in Jacksonville. We’re really on the map of a lot of companies representing a lot of employees. A lot of access to talent in the area. So again, come on Elon."
Elon Musk gestures as he speaks during a press conference at SpaceX's Starbase facility near Boca Chica Village in South Texas on February 10, 2022. Musk will buy Twitter for $44 billion. ( Getty Images / Getty Images)
ELON MUSK BUYS TWITTER, SPARKING CONCERN FROM DEMOCRATS
Curry’s comment follows a vocal push by Florida’s Chief Financial Officer & State Fire Marshal Jimmy Patronis calling on Musk to move Twitter to Florida.
"Hey @elonmusk, this is what Team @Twitter could see ever evening if your HQ was in the Free State of Florida," Patronis recently tweeted along with the hashtag #FloridaIsFor Winners.
A sign is pictured outside the Twitter headquarters in San Francisco, Monday, April 25, 2022. (AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn / AP Newsroom)
TWITTER EMPLOYEES DISTRAUGHT OVER MUSK BUYOUT, TOO 'IN SHOCK TO SPEAK': REPORT
Musk relocating a business that he owns to a more tax friendly state would not be unprecedented after his decision to move his automotive company Tesla from San Francisco, California to Austin, Texas in 2021. In October 2021, Musk suggested that he was partially inspired to move by a hostile tweet from a Democratic lawmaker in California.
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HEREF
Florida isn’t the only state with lawmakers working to lobby Musk to move jobs out of California. Earlier this week, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott publicly lobbied Musk to move Twitter to the Lone Star State.
"@elonmusk. Bring Twitter to Texas to join Tesla, SpaceX & the Boring company," the Texas Republican tweeted.
Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn also made a pitch on Twitter for Musk to move to her state.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at a press conference (Photo by Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) ((Photo by Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) / Getty Images)
"Elon should move Twitter HQ to the freedom-loving state of Tennessee!" Blackburn tweeted.
Patronis poked fun at the tweets from both Abbott and Blackburn in what appeared to be a friendly competition for Musk’s residency.
"@elonmusk - if you’re considering Texas, you better bring a lot of solar panels and a big, big battery," Patronis tweeted at Abbott. "(Texas’s power grid is not great.) Stick with Florida. Florida’s for winners, after all."
Patronis responded to Blackburn by saying, "Nope. If you don’t have America’s best Governor (@GovRonDeSantis), you just can’t compete."