Goodbye, Golden State?

New report fuels speculation that Tesla will move headquarters to Austin from California

Austin, home to Tesla's soon-to-be-completed Cybertruck Giga Texas factory, may soon welcome the company's HQ.

UPDATE: Tesla made it official October 7: It’s moving its headquarters to Austin. During Tesla’s annual shareholders meeting at its under-construction manufacturing plant just east of Austin, CEO Elon Musk announced — to sustained applause from the pandemic-restricted audience — that the company would shift its headquarters from Palo Alto, California, to Austin.

It’s unclear whether the move would be immediate. He didn’t indicate where the HQ would be, although the massive new factory here potentially could house corporate offices.

Musk added that Tesla isn’t abandoning California. The company will continue to expand its factory in Fremont, California, but will expand “even more so here in Texas.” He emphasized the new plant’s close proximity to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and downtown Austin.

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Tesla CEO Elon Musk relocated last year from California to Texas, splitting his time between the Gulf Coast and Austin, in conjunction with construction of the automaker’s massive factory here. Around the same time, he moved his charitable foundation to Austin. Now, word is surfacing that Tesla itself might shift its headquarters from California to Austin.

The Insider news website is the latest media outlet to weigh in on a potential move of the Tesla HQ away from Palo Alto, California. Insider notes that Tesla’s virtual-only annual shareholders meeting will be broadcast October 7 from the automaker’s $1.1 billion factory being built just east of Austin. The meeting starts at 4:30 p.m.

Tesla announced in August that it planned to hold the annual meeting at its factory in Fremont, California, but switched the site to Austin in September.

Further fueling speculation about the possible shift of the Tesla HQ to Austin is that, as Insider points out, its two most recent corporate news releases carried an Austin dateline rather than a Palo Alto dateline. Typically, publicly traded companies like Tesla use a dateline in their press releases that reflects where their headquarters is located.

This headline accompanies the Insider article, published October 6: “It looks like Elon Musk may move Tesla’s headquarters to Austin.” The article cites no sources for the speculation, though. Insider says Tesla representatives couldn’t be reached for comment.

A June 2020 photo of Musk and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, both flashing the Hook ’em Horns sign, appears along with the Insider article. The photo was taken the day of Tesla’s announcement about its new factory just east of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. The manufacturing plant is scheduled to start full production of electric vehicles next year.

Musk threatened last year to relocate Tesla’s headquarters to Texas or Nevada after he tangled with Northern California officials over a pandemic-driven shutdown of the company’s Fremont factory.

If Tesla were to move here, it would become the third-largest publicly traded company in the Austin area based on 2020 revenue. Round Rock-based Dell Technologies and Austin-based Oracle (a recent transplant from California) posted more revenue last year than Tesla did. Tesla’s revenue in 2020 approached $12 billion, compared with Dell’s $92.2 billion and Oracle’s $39.1 billion.

Oracle isn’t the only publicly traded company that has recently swapped California for Texas. Aviat Networks moved here in 2019. A year later, Resonant and Sonim Technologies planted roots in Austin. Earlier this year, Digital Realty announced its relocation from San Francisco to Austin.

The growing prospect of Tesla relocating to Austin comes on the heels of the Forbes 400 crowning Musk, who leads Tesla and SpaceX, as the richest person in Texas and the second-richest person in the U.S.

Forbes estimated his net worth at $190.5 billion as of early September.

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SKIN IN THE GAME

Renowned Hill Country tattoo artist inks new sacred geometry app

Photo courtesy of Dillon Forte

Dillion Forte at his "tattoo ranch" in the Texas Hill Country.

In the world of tattooing, there may seem to be few better rat traps left to build, but Dillon Forte aims to change that. In October, the renowned Wimberley-based tattoo artist and entrepreneur introduced a new iPadOS app to bring ancient symbology into the digital age.

Forte has made a worldwide name for his black dot work (a contemporary take on stick-and-poke techniques) and ambitious undertakings like tattooing underwater and opening a “tattoo ranch.” His ink appears on Usher, Chris Hemsworth, and Kehlani.

Still, he is most recognized for his sacred geometry designs, using patterns to convey various meanings. His interest led him to create the Sacred Geometry Drawing App, a convenient way for novices and experts to develop and export their creations.

The app grew out of his own practice. Over the past decade, he has used tablets and freehand techniques to achieve his highly symmetrical artwork but grew to realize existing tools were not always easy to use.

“The app is an attempt and fulfillment of my desire to make sacred geometry accessible and bring the ability to create into the fingertips of as many people as possible,” Forte tells CultureMap via email, adding a tagline: “symmetry made simply.”

He says he wished the app was available when developing his signature style as a tattoo artist, but it was designed with a broad range of users in mind. He hopes that designers, educators, and artists will find a use for it.

A short intro to the app's capabilities is available on YouTube. It looks like a standard drawing app, starting with a blank canvas and some tools like pens, pencils, colors, and of course, straight line and dot makers.

A "symmetry index" anchors the functionality and expands it to something between 2D art and 3D modeling. In addition to generating shapes like repeating patterns and spirals, the app also creates 3D shapes with grids, so that the artist can map their design in real space or even create sculptures. There is also an index for explaining the spiritual meaning of some standard designs.

“Geometry often prompts an intimidating feeling when it comes to making art,” Forte continues. “The fundamentally complex and often academic nature of math-based art can induce a sense of fear in the potential user instead of creating a sense of awe. The purpose of the sacred geometry app is to cultivate the latter."

Creatives interested in constructing their own geometric masterpieces can download the app at the App Store for free, and in-app purchases are available.

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