California's problems, explained
California gubernatorial candidate Michael Shellenberger spells out what exactly ails the Golden State on ‘Tucker Carlson Tonight.’
Elon Musk blamed California’s one-party rule for stopping him from building his massive new Tesla Gigafactory in the Golden State, during an interview at a tech summit on Monday.
When asked why he decided to build his manufacturing plant in Austin, Texas instead of California, Musk said taxes, regulations and litigators "want to stop you from doing anything," so it would take too long to build.
"California has gone from the land of opportunity to the land of taxes, overregulation and litigation," the billionaire said.
Revealing it took him 18 months to build the facility in Texas, Musk said "we would still be working on the permits…. I’m not exaggerating," if he had tried to build it in California.
Tesla and SpaceX Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk speaks at the SATELLITE Conference and Exhibition in Washington, on March 9, 2020. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
The Tesla CEO argued change was needed, but that wouldn't happen as long as California remained a "one-party state" due to Democrats having a supermajority in the state legislature.
"There’s got to be an above zero percent chance of the Republicans winning," he said.
California Governor Gavin Newsom makes an appearance after the polls close on the recall election, at the California Democratic Party headquarters in Sacramento, California, U.S., September 14, 2021. (REUTERS/Fred Greaves)
The entrepreneur also criticized California Democrats for treating residents "like sheep."
"It's terrible that’s gone on in California, and it's outrageous. So in California, the Dems have supermajorities in the House and Senate in California, and the governor and everything. So how responsive is any political party going to be to the people, if they are guaranteed to win? It's a one-party state," he said.
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Californians have been leaving the state in increasing numbers due to high taxes and crime which has caused the state to lose a congressional seat for the first time in the state's history.
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