California Governor Gavin Newsom pushed back against criticism of California and praised the state’s economy after well-known companies like SpaceX and Chevron announced plans to relocate their headquarters to Texas.
The governor’s office this week touted the high number of California companies on Inc. magazine’s recently released list of America’s Fastest-Growing Private Companies, which scored companies based on their revenue growth from 2020 to 2023.
“California has the most dynamic, entrepreneurial economy in the nation, and the businesses that start and grow here change the world,” Governor Newsom said in a statement.
Newsom made the remarks as he fended off growing criticism over the state’s plagued homelessness problem and blasted conservative critics for portraying the state as a bastion of out-of-control liberals. Some of the criticism has come from billionaire Elon Musk, who is backing former President Trump’s campaign against Vice President Kamala Harris and is moving the headquarters of his company, SpaceX, to Texas.
In deciding to flee, Musk slammed students for changing gender identities and blamed his decision on the rampant crime in San Francisco, where X is based, saying he was “tired of dodging gangs of violent drug addicts just to get in and out of our building.”
Other companies with longtime California bases are also leaving the state, including one of the world’s largest oil companies, which announced in August that it would move its headquarters to Texas, and Oracle, which also moved from California to Texas, which this year announced plans to make Nashville, Tennessee, the location of its global headquarters.
The governor boasted that more than 660 California companies made the list this year, more than any other state. Collectively, those companies have added more than 81,000 new jobs to the state’s economy, according to the list. Companies in the top 20 on the list include Bounce, a package storage service in San Francisco; Cowbell, a cyber insurance company in Pleasanton; Skyline Smart Energy, a company in Downey; Marketcall, an advertising agency in Pasadena; and Ascend Agency, a marketing company in Irvine.
Citing data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Newsom’s office said California will have a nominal GDP of about $3.9 trillion in 2023, making it the world’s fifth-largest economy.
Newsom’s office also boasted that tourism spending in California reached a record $150.4 billion last year, that the state has created thousands of fast-food jobs and is home to more Fortune 500 companies than any other state in the United States.
Governor Newsom reiterated some of these figures at Salesforce’s Dreamforce conference in San Francisco on Tuesday. Commenting on Musk’s plans to relocate SpaceX, Governor Newsom said on stage that he was “excited to see how he makes it happen.”
“California still has an advantage in many areas,” Newsom said, “and it’s a source of pride and a necessity that we maintain that advantage.”
Staff writer Wendy Lee contributed to this report.
